Figure 6. TEM images of keratin intermediate filaments from keratinocytes that experienced a variety of mechanical treatments before being fixed and embedded.

A) Control cells that were grown on silastic membranes and embedded without receiving any stretching treatment. All other images are from cells that were either stretched and embedded in the stretched state, or stretched and then unstretched and embedded in the relaxed state. Average maximum strain value is indicated in the upper right of each panel. The direction of stretch is indicated by the arrow above panel (A). Scale bar = 400 nm. (inset) A comparison of the tortuosity of bundles from stretched cells and cells that were stretched and relaxed demonstrates that bundles are straightened by the uniaxial strains we subjected them to.