Figure 1.

Composite describing how tumorigenesis and mesenchymal stroma progression are two processes which affect and incite each other. The photographs represent confocal 3D reconstructions of fibroblast-derived ECMs (in brown) and cell nuclei (in green) where the disorganized in vitro stroma is shown in the left panel while the parallel patterned architecture of tumor-associated stromal matrix is evident in the right panel. The gradient progression bar in brown, at the bottom of the composite, represents the increased stiffness and architectural patterning of the stroma during these joint progression processes. The two confocal images are a variation from images published in Amatangelo, Bassi et al. 2005 [20].