Hox Transcription Factors: Modulators of Cell-Cell and Cell-Extracellular Matrix Adhesion
Figure 2
Transition from epithelial to mesenchymal morphology caused by HOXD3 expression in lung cancer A549 cells. A549 cells stably transfected with empty vector (A549-vec) or HOXD3 expression vector (A549-HOXD3) [33] were fixed and stained for nuclei and F-actin by using DAPI and phalloidin-rhodamine, respectively. A549-vec cells have epithelial morphology (a, b), while A549-HOXD3 cells have spindle-shape mesenchymal morphology (c, d). A reduction in E-cadherin expression and an increase in α3 and β3 integrin expression were observed in A549-HOXD3 cells, as compared to A549-vec cells [33].
