Distribution change of nectins in the developing mouse OE and the phenotypes of nectin KO mice. (A) Distribution patterns of nectin-2 (top) and -3 (bottom) in the OE during development. Immunostaining for nectin-2 or -3 (green) is shown. Insets show immunostaining for afadin (red), which indicates all boundaries. A representative image is shown of six independent experiments. The graphs indicate the densitometric traces of the lines in the photographs of nectin fluorescence. Peaks correspond to the signals at the junction marked with the same number in the upper figures. S-S, junction between SCs; O-S, junction between OCs and SCs; O-O, junction between OCs. (B) The cellular patterns of the OE derived from WT or nectin KO mice on P28. Immunostaining for ZO-1 is shown. Arrowheads indicate attached OCs. (C) Statistical analysis of nectin-KO phenotypes on P28. Left, number of SCs; middle, number of OCs; right, number of attached OCs. Results shown are the mean ± SD; *, P < 0.001. n = 9.