Fig. 7. Left panel: Immunostaining of Cx30 expression in wild-type epidermis on days 1-5 after wound healing. Cx30 protein increased after wounding to maximal expression on day 3. On days 4 and 5, Cx30 protein level decreased again. Right panel: Cx30 expression in tail epidermis of mice with decreased amounts of Cx43 protein. The maximal expression of Cx30 after wounding was shifted to one day earlier than in wild-type epidermis. On day 2 after wounding the epidermis was already closed under the coagulum, in contrast to wild-type epidermis, which fused on day 3 after wounding. Nuclei were stained with Hoechst 33258 fluorescent dye. The basal lamina is marked by white dots. Bars, 25 µm. Coa, coagulum.