Fig. 6. Altered expression levels of Cx26, Cx30, Cx31 and Cx43 relative to the corresponding level in uninjured epidermis. (A,C) Cx26 and Cx30 immunosignals increased in all epidermal layers to maximal expression on day 3. (D) The Cx31 protein level decreased in the suprabasal layers accompanied by an increase in the basal layer until day 4. (B) Cx43 protein decreased within the first 4 days of wound healing. On day 5, all of the connexins analyzed were readjusted to the expression level of uninjured epidermis. Cx30 (E) and Cx31 protein (F) in mice with decreased amount of Cx43 protein showed an altered expression pattern which resembled that in wounded wild-type epidermis one day later. Labelling of the columns: grey, basal layer; horizontal lines, spinous layer; vertical lines, granulous layer. Arrows indicate the shifted maximal expression of Cx30 and Cx31. Asterisks above the lanes indicate significant changes of signal abundance (P<0.05) (Student's t-test) compared with corresponding uninjured epidermis.