Fig. 1: Increased microglial Cx43 in the brains from AD patients. | Nature Communications

Fig. 1: Increased microglial Cx43 in the brains from AD patients.

From: Connexin43 hemichannel blockade turns microglia neuroprotective and mitigates cognitive deficits in a mouse model of amyloidosis

Fig. 1

a Cx43 (gene name: GJA1) expression from bulk RNA-sequencing of the human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the ROSMAP cohort was plotted against the Braak score, revealing a positive correlation. Right: expression of Cx43 in healthy (N = 172), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, N = 138), and AD (N = 219) groups. Statistical test: one-way ANOVA. b Cx43 protein level from a proteomic study of BLSA-Banner-MSSB-ACT multicenter cohort was plotted against the Braak score. Right: Cx43 protein level in control (N = 72), asymptomatic AD (asymAD, N = 75), and AD (N = 179) groups. Statistical test: one-way ANOVA. c Representative IBA1 and Aβ immunostaining of healthy controls and AD patients, scale bar: 10 μm. Right: Quantification of IBA1+ microglia number. N = 5 subjects. Statistical test: two-tailed t test. d Representative IBA1, GFAP, and Aβ immunostaining of AD patients, scale bar: 50 μm. Right: Distribution of microglia and astrocytes at different distances from Aβ plaques (N = 30 plaques). e Cx43 and Aβ immunostaining, scale bar: 10 μm. C x 43 intensity at different distances from plaques (n = 91) was quantified and compared to the area distal to the plaque (55–100 μm). Statistical test: two-tailed t test. f Representative Cx43, IBA1, and Aβ immunostaining of healthy controls and AD patients, scale bar: 10 μm. The white boxed area was 3D rendered to display Cx43 signal in IBA1+ domain. Arrowhead: periplaque microglia. g Quantification of Cx43 + area within IBA1+ domain in normal controls and AD patients, normalized to normal controls. N = 5 subjects, n = 153 (control) and 206 (AD) cells. Statistical test: two-tailed t test. h Quantification of Cx43 + area within IBA1+ domain in periplaque microglia and distal microglia in AD patients, normalized to normal controls. N = 5 subjects, n = 85 (periplaque) and 121 (distal) cells. Statistical test: two-tailed t test. Dot plots show mean ± SEM, each data point, and p-value. Significance: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

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