Figure 4.

(A) Tumour cells show distinct morphological patterns of tubulogenesis in vitro. The highly metastatic tongue cancer cell lines (HSC-3 and SCC-24B) formed the classical “honeycomb-like” looping pattern, while the larynx-derived cell line (SCC-8) attained thinner branches with smoother capillaries. Evidently, cells from the floor of the mouth (SCC-28) formed peculiar and “spike-like” networks, on both Matrigel and Myogel, that were morphologically different from any other cell line. (B) In vitro tumour cell-derived tubulogenesis showed substantial resemblance to the endothelial ones. These cell networks expressed the endothelial cell marker CD31, which was primarily localized in the capillary extensions and junctions. The images were taken at magnifications of 10× and 20×.