Figure 9. Quantification of cancer cell spreading on CAF-derived matrices.

Box plots illustrating the extent of cell spreading of SW480 (A), T47D (B), HCT8/E11 (C) and SKBR3 (D) cells on matrices as quantified by factor shape (= inverse circularity or P²/4πA). Matrices are derived from untreated CAFs and CAFs treated with bFGF, TGF-β1 or both. When seeded on matrices from TGF-β1-treated CAFs, SW480 and T47D cancer cells presented enhanced spreading, which is mirrored by the significantly altered cell shapes. HCT8/ E11 cells showed a trend towards enhanced cell spreading on matrices from TGF-β1-treated CAFs, and significant alterations on matrices from bFGF/TGF-β1-treated CAFs. SKBR3 cells displayed only limited, statistically non-significant alterations in cell spreading and factor shape. N.S.= non-significant (p>0.05); circles = outliers; squares = extremes.