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. 2012 May 15;7(5):e37374. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037374

Figure 1. Dermal Cx43 is greatly upregulated in human chronic VLU.

Figure 1

(A) Cx43 expression levels are reduced at the dermal wound margins 4 hours after leg punch biopsy of the skin of healthy volunteers. Scale bar = 25 µm. Blue signal is Hoechst staining of nuclei and collagen bundle autofluorescence. The dotted white line shows the border between the epidermis and the dermis (B) Cx43 levels increased with progressive distance from the injury site (C). Values represent mean ± SD (n = 3; **p<0.01). (D) A representative picture of a chronic VLU in the lower leg of a patient, from which a wound edge punch biopsy has been taken – white dotted circle. (E) Dermal Cx43 expression levels were significantly upregulated in chronic VLU in comparison to matched non-wounded samples (n = 6; *** p<0.005). (F) Graph depicting Cx43 levels in VLU vs. non-wounded skin. Values were expressed as mean ± SEM. Scale bar = 25 µm.