Figure 12.

Cav-1^−/− MSFs spontaneously undergo endothelial-like tube formation. Primary mammary fibroblasts were isolated from the mammary glands of wild-type and Cav-1^−/− mice. The cells were allowed to reach confluency in 10-cm dishes, and were treated with ascorbic acid (40 μg/ml). Ascorbic acid treatment facilitates collagen secretion. Then, the cells were subjected to extended culture (30 days) without changing their media. Interestingly, Cav-1^−/− MSFs spontaneously underwent endothelial-like tube formation (right panels). Four representative phase images are shown for each genotype. WT, wild-type; KO, Cav-1^−/−.