Figure 1.

Cell stress induces changes in the cell actin cytoskeleton and enhances cell migration and invasion. (A) Fixed cells previously treated with either 10% FBS (FBS, left column) or 0% FBS (SFM, right column) were stained with DAPI (blue) and phalloidin (red) to examine changes in the cell cytoskeletal structure upon stress. White scale bars represent 10 microns. (B) Cells (FBS versus SFM) were subjected to transwells to asses migration or (C) to Matrigel-coated xCELLignece chambers to assess invasion. The variation in the y-axis values between graphs is due to the inherent differences in the ability of the cells lines to migrate at baseline or under stress conditions. (D) Transwell assays for migration and invasion were also performed under a second type of stress (hypoxia = 1% O₂). Cells were fixed and stained with crystal violet for visualization. Assays were performed at least in triplicate.