Actin Immunofluorescence in a Bone Cancer Cell
Optical micrograph of a human bone cancer cell showing immunofluorescene of the actin cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton, shown in green, is responsible for the generation of adhesions—attachment points. The blue dots reveal collagen, which provides an anchor for the focal adhesions. The tension generated through these attachments drives the formation of bundles within the cytoskeleton, seen as bright green. By controlling the placement of the collagen in a pattern, we can study how constraining the size of individual focal adhesions regulates the tension-dependent structures of the actin cytoskeleton.