Figure 1
From: Distinct routes to metastasis: plasticity-dependent and plasticity-independent pathways
Fluorescence-based MET reporters reveal epithelial plasticity in mesenchymal rat prostate tumors. (a) Schematic of the Gint and RIIIcI2 reporters. (b) Skipping of exon IIIc leads to production of DsRed in epithelial DT cells, while inclusion of exon IIIc in mesenchymal AT3 cells prevents the expression of DsRed. Epithelial DT cells express high levels of E-cadherin with low vimentin, while mesenchymal AT3 cells have almost no E-cadherin, but robustly express vimentin. (c) AT3+Gint+RIIIcI2 tumors reveal foci of DsRed-expressing cells near the tumor edge. A dotted line indicates the border between the inner tumor mass and the unlabeled cells of the tumor capsule. Arrows highlight tumor cells that reside within the tumor capsule that have undergone MET. Scale bars=50 μm unless otherwise specified.
