ACKR3 gene silencing reduces ACKR3 : AVPR1A and ACKR3 : CXCR4 heteromers and increases AVPR1A : CXCR4 interactions in A7r5 cells. (a,b). Representative PLA images for the detection of individual receptors (a) and receptor–receptor interactions (b) in A7r5 cells after incubation with NT or ACKR3 siRNA. Ctrl: omission of one primary antibody. Images show merged PLA/4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride (DAPI) signals acquired from z-stack images (n = 10; thickness 1 µm, bottom to top). (c,d) Quantification of PLA signals per cell for the detection of individual receptors (c) and receptor–receptor interactions (d) as in (a,b). n = 6 independent experiments with n = 10 images per condition and experiment. *p < 0.05 versus cells incubated with NT-siRNA.