Melanoma Cells Homing to the Brain: An In Vitro Model

Figure 1

(a) The endothelial cells (E) were plated on the upper side of polycarbonate membrane at a density of /well and the astrocytes (A) were cultured on the bottom side of the membrane at a density of /well. The arrowhead shows the contact between astrocyte endfeet and endothelial cells monolayer across a pore (P) of the membrane. (b) Contact (arrowhead) between astrocyte endfeet (A) and endothelial cells (E) across a pore (P) at higher magnification. (c) Transversal section of endothelial cells monolayer (E) after four days of cocultures with astrocytes (see Material and Methods). Arrows indicate the tight junction (TJ) between two adjacent endothelial cells.

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