Figure 3. Cytoskeletal organization of astrocytes and tumor cells by staining for vinculin, a focal adhesion protein, and F-actin.

(A) Representative images of astrocytes and tumor cells of vinculin (red), F-actin (green), and counterstained with Hoechst (blue). Densely organized actin networks were observed in astrocyte cultures; however disorganized actin filaments were observed in U87MG and A172 tumor cell cultures. Further, vinculin was largely was localized throughout the entire cell body of astrocytes, however primarily localized to the periphery of tumor cells. (B) Quantification of focal adhesions demonstrated that tumor cells resulted in significant reduction (p < 0.05) in vinculin area/cell area compared to healthy astrocytes. N = 3, mean ± SEM.