FIGURE 2.

Connexin 30 deficiency exacerbates morphological cochlear damage induced by aging. (A–F): Surface preparations of the basilar membrane with the organ of Corti from 12 MoA Cx30 WT and Cx30 ΔΔ mice; images from apical, medial, and basal turns were obtained by maximal intensity back projection of 15 confocal optical sections from a 0.8 µm step through-focus sequence (z-stack). Actin filaments were stained with ActinGreen 488 ReadyProbes (green). Arrowheads indicate missing cells. Scale bar: 50 μm. (G and H): Histograms (mean ± S.E.M.) represent the percentage of OHC and IHC survival in the three cochlear turns from Cx30 WT and Cx30 ΔΔ animals. (I–N): Representative SGN hematoxylin-eosin staining in Cx30 WT (I–K) and Cx30 ΔΔ samples (I–N) in apical, middle, and basal cochlear turns. (O): Histograms (mean ± S.E.M.) represent the number of SGNs per mm² in the three different cochlear turns. N = 4 cochleae/group. Asterisks indicate significant differences between groups from Student’s t-test (*p < 0.05).