Table 1. Distribution of the three subtypes of cholesterol-containing gap junctions in the outer and inner cortical fibers of embryonic chicken lenses

The data is expressed as mean±SD. The percentage of a given cholesterol-GJ subtype in each replica (N=3) is determined by the total GJ area of that given subtype divided by the sum of GJ area from the three subtypes. The double asterisk denotes that by T-test the decrease on the mean percentage of cholesterol-rich gap junctions from the outer cortex to inner cortex is statistically significant (p<0.001). The asterisk denotes that the increase on the mean percentage of cholesterol-poor-free gap junctions from the outer cortex to inner cortex is also statistically significant (p<0.001). A total of 124 and 140 gap junctions were used for quantitative analysis in the outer cortex and inner cortex, respectively. FCC, filipin-cholesterol complexes.