Fig. 8

Cx43^+/− mice exhibit minimal disassembly of the adherens and tight junction complex. Quantification of immunohistochemical staining determined an increase in N-cadherin (a & c) and decrease in ZO-1 (b & d) expression in wildtype (WT) UUO compared to WT sham controls. In Cx43^+/− (UUO) mice, expression of both markers was partially restored to near basal levels. Furthermore, western blotting (e) of renal cortex determined changes in expression of E-cadherin (f), β-catenin (g) and Claudin-2 (h) in WT UUO mice compared to WT shams, congruent to those found in vitro when cells were treated with TGF-β1. As expected, these changes were partially negated in Cx43^+/− (UUO) mice. Results were from six separate experiments; with significance shown: *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001