Figure 5
Extracellular matrix remodeling: collagen fiber alignment. Collagen fiber alignment was assessed parallel to cell extensions as a measure of cell-mediated ECM remodeling. (A) Normalized pixel intensity curves generated from FFT analysis for each treatment group relative to a no-cell control. Randomly oriented collagen fibers result in constant pixel intensity at any given angle. Alignment of fibers parallel to cell extensions result in increased intensity at certain angles. (B) Alignment index is calculated by taking the area under the curve ± 10 degrees from the maximum intensity value. TGFβ1 showed the greatest collagen fiber alignment while LMW-FGF-2 attenuated this response. Bars represent mean ± SD; *p < 0.05.