Figure 1. Cortactin depletion results in altered actin morphology in endothelial cells.

Cortactin-deficient murine lung endothelial cells (MLEC, A), cortactin-depleted HUVEC (B) and HMEC-1 (C) were analysed for actin morphology by fluorescence using Alexa568-phalloidin. Images are representative of three independent experiments. Bar = 20 μm. Pixel intensities (graphs on the right) were quantified using ImageJ software. Graphs show means +/−SDM of three independent cultivations. ***p < 0.001. (D) Left: Image illustrating the method of actin fibre quantification as depicted in the left bar charts shown in Fig. 1A–C. Actin staining in red; VE-cadherin staining in green. Right: Illustration of assessment of central actin fibre density²⁸, results of which are shown in the respective right bar charts of Fig. 1A–C. (E) Verification of cortactin depletion or deficiency by Western blot. (F) Analysis of G- vs F-actin levels, and total actin content in lung lysates of WT and cortactin KO mice. Representative blots of three independent experiments are shown.