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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: FASEB J. 2020 Mar 13;34(5):6166–6184. doi: 10.1096/fj.201901920R

Figure 2:

Figure 2:

A. A glass slide covered with ECs was placed at the bottom of the flow chamber. The ECs were exposed to a dynamic flow pattern that was generated by the introduction of a vertical step in the flow path. This computer aided simulation shows some of the flow pattern features. Here, the DF region is exaggerated for illustration purposes. It can be seen that eddy currents form immediately after the step, which is characterized by flow detachment, eddy current and reattachment sections. In addition, the DF region includes a transition in which the flow gradually adapts until it becomes UF. The transition region is followed by the UF region where the flow is void of any disturbances. Additional details can be found in Fig. S2 and its caption. B and C. Phase contrast images indicating healthy HUVEC monolayer after the introduction of both DF and UF. Insets show VE-cadherin labeled cells as further indication that endothelial layer is still intact in both DF and UF. D and E. Attachment of 4T1 breast cancer cells (D; red dots) and MCF7 cells (E; red dots) to the endothelium respectively. As expected cancer cells preferred to attach to the DF area than the UF area. F. Number of 4T1 and MCF7 breast cancer cells attached to the DF-conditioned endothelium. The dotted line represents normalized UF data. Significant increase in the attachment of cancer cells in the DF region compared to UF region. G. Number of cancer cell clusters formed in the DF region. The dotted line represents normalized UF data. We observed a significant increase in the clustering of 4T1 and MCF7 breast cancer cells to the endothelium in comparison with UF regions. H. Initial migration of 4T1 and MCF7 breast cancer cells through the DF-conditioned endothelium. The dotted line represents normalized UF data. Compared to UF regions, we observed a significant increase in the initial migration of cancer cells through the DF region, compared to UF areas. All data “Normalized with UF”. Student t test was used to compare DF vs. UF. Sample sizes: 4T1 attachment N=9, MCF7 attachment N=5. Significance is compared to the UF condition and denoted as *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P>0.001, or not significant (ns).