Cx30, Cx32, Cx43, and Cx47 selectively form heterotypic pairs.
| Surround | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center | Cx30 | Cx32 | Cx43 | Cx47 |
| Cx30 | NQ | 56 ± 8%(4/10, 6/9, 8/13) | 0 ± 0%(0/11, 0/10, 0/12) | 8 ± 5%(2/12, 1/17, 0/15) |
| Cx32 | 77 ± 13%(6/6, 5/9, 10/13) | NQ | 0 ± 0%(0/8, 0/9, 0/14) | 0 ± 0%(0/9, 0/11, 0/13) |
| Cx43 | 0 ± 0%(0/12, 0/11, 0/13) | 3 ± 3%(1/13, 0/5, 0/10) | NQ | 79 ± 2%(7/9, 10/13, 10/12) |
| Cx47 | 3 ± 3%(1/11, 0/12, 0/11) | 0 ± 0%(0/7, 0/7, 0/11) | 80 ± 6%(9/10, 7/9, 7/10) | NQ |
HeLa cells stably expressing Cx30, Cx32, Cx43, or Cx47 were transiently transfected to express DsRed, mixed in a ratio of 1 DsRed+ cell (center) to 20 DsRed− cells (surround), and immunostained for each connexin in the pair after 1 d. The number of connexin puncta on the cell membrane of the DsRed+ cell that overlap with puncta of the connexin expressed by the surrounding cells was determined. The table shows the percentage (mean ± SEM) of DsRed+ cells with at least one overlapping punctum; the number of DsRed+ cells with at least one overlapping punctum per the total number of DsRed+ cells from each of three separate experiments are given in parentheses. NQ, Not quantified.