Figure 2.

Subunits α7wt and the α7hi mutant, but not the α7ca2 and α7hi-ca2 mutants, are expressed as heterodimeric integrin on the surface of transfected HT1080 cells and induce morphological changes of cells after adhesion to laminin-111 and collagen-I. First column: surface exposure of integrin α7β1 wild type and mutants on transfected HT1080 cells was quantified by flow cytometry independently with two monoclonal antibodies, 3C12 and mAb3518 (clone #334908). Second to fourth columns: immunofluorescence of adherent transfectants on laminin-111 and collagen-I, either with (second column) or without (third and fourth column) permeabilization, and stained with an anti-integrin α7 antibody 3C12 (green), with phalloidin (red) and Hoechst dye (blue). Scale bars = 20 µm. Representative pictures of at least two independent staining experiments with at least 10 cells per condition are shown.