Kwabena Badu-Nkansah
Hynes Laboratory, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
Epi-Fluorescence Micrograph

"This is an immunofluorescence stain of brain endothelial cells adhering and spreading on an extracellular matrix primarily made up of fibronectin.  The fibers (red) are lines of actin filaments that make up the cell's cytoskeleton and the small dots (green) represent alpha 5 integrin, one of the main receptors of fibronectin, that often localizes in plaques called focal adhesions.  Integrins are known to have roles in mediating cell attachment and signaling that helps define cellular shape, cellular mobility, and also regulates cell cycle as well as gene expression."