Supplementary Figure 9 from Acidity Generated by the Tumor Microenvironment Drives Local Invasion

PDF file - 658K, Figure S9: In vitro degradation of collagen I and IV by HCT116 cells. A) Images show 2-day cultures of HCT116 cells grown in 2D collagen I and 3D rBM overlay cultures at pHe 7.4 and 6.8, respectively. Images represent degradation products of DQ-collagen I and DQ-collagen IV in the entire 2D and 3D volume of cells. B) Using the Definiens imaging software, proteolytic activity was measured, correlated to fluorescence intensity and normalized to cell area. Proteolytic activity at acidic pHe was statistically significant (p<0.0051 for DQ 1 and p<0.03 for DQ IV).