Fig. 1.

The influence of cytoskeleton and intracellular signaling inhibitors on cell-induced contractile forces and vascular network formation. (A) Immunofluorescence imaging of a uniaxially fixated fibrin gel embedded with a coculture of endothelial cells and fibroblasts and grown for 8 d. Inhibitors were added to the culture medium on day 3 and replaced daily, along with the medium: (I) control gel, (II) gel treated with Blebbistatin, (III) gel treated with Y27632, (IV) gel treated with SU5416, and (V) gel treated with DAPT. Samples were stained to visualize the nuclei (DAPI, blue), endothelial cells (CD31, red), and actin fibers (Phalloidin-FITC, green). (B) Cell-induced contractile forces were measured as a function of µpost deflections of cell-embedded fibrin gels on days 1–8 postseeding. (C) A coplot of vessel quality and cell-induced contractile forces measured on day 8 postseeding.