Figure 1

Mice used and general appearance of Cx30 and Cx43 in perivascular astrocyte domains. (a) Diagrams of gap junction composition of transgenic mice used in this study arranged in order of decreasing Cx43 expression. Mice used were: Cx43 WT but Cx30 null [Cx43^(+/+)/Cx30^(−/−)], Cx43 heterozygous [Cx43^(+/−)/Cx30^(+/+)], heterozygous for the M258 truncation [Cx43^(Δ/−)/Cx30^(+/+)], and dKO [hGFAP-Cre:Cx43^(fl/fl)/Cx30^(−/−)]. (b, c) Double immunolabeling with CD31 to localize endothelial cells in brain vessels and with antibody for either Cx43 (b) or Cx30 (c) in each of the genotypes illustrated in (a). Note localization of both Cx30 and Cx43 nearby CD31, indicating that both connexins are present at astrocyte endfeet. Arrowheads indicate the vessels. Scale bar: 50 µm.