Figure 5 of Biswas, Mol Vis 2009; 15:1492-1508.


Figure 5. Quantitative analysis of percentage of gap junction population in various size ranges in the outer cortex versus the inner cortex. While the small-size GJs (0.01-0.09 μm2) are mostly populated in both outer and inner cortices, the large-size GJs (0.8-1.75 μm2) are only found in the outer cortical fibers. Importantly, while all small-size GJs in the outer cortex exhibit loosely-packed connexons (Figure 2), the similar small-size GJs in the inner cortex display the crystalline-packed connexons (Figure 3D). This result suggests that (1) small-size newly-formed GJs are gradually developed into large-size ones during fiber cell differentiation in the outer cortex; and (2) large-size GJs undergo structural remodeling (such as removal of cholesterol and re-packing or breakdown of connexons), which results in a significant reduction in the GJ size during maturation and aging in the inner cortex.