Fig. 6.

Inhibition of Cx43 HCs alters anti-oxidative gene expression in response to oxidative stress. (A and B) The cells were pre-incubated with or without Cx43E2 antibody for 30 min followed by incubation with 0.3 mM H₂O₂(A) or 63 mJ/cm² UVB radiation (B) for 0, 0.5, and 3 h. RNA extracts were prepared and subjected to qRT-PCR analysis for GPX1 or SOD1 mRNA expression. (C) HLE-B3 cells were pre-incubated with or without Cx43E2 antibody for 30 min followed by incubation with 0.3 mM H₂O₂ or 63 mJ/cm² UVB radiation and immunoblotting with anti-GPX1, SOD1 or β-actin antibody. The protein levels of SOD1 and GPX1 were quantified by Image Studio Site software (LI-COR Biosciences). The data are presented as the mean ± SEM. (n = 3). *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001 (Two-way ANOVA).