Figure 8.

Fibroblasts harboring activated HIF1a promote mitochondrial activity in adjacent cancer cells. MitoTracker is used to visualize functional mitochondria with an active membrane potential. (A) Fibroblasts alone. Note that fibroblasts harboring activated HIF1a show reduced MitoTracker staining, consistent with a decrease in mitochondrial mass and/or membrane potential. (B) Co-culture. Note that fibroblasts harboring activated HIF1a increase the MitoTracker staining profile of adjacent MDA-MB-231 cancer cells, when they are co-cultured. MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells are marked by GFP expression.