Fig. 1. Altered cytoskeleton and decreased focal adhesion complex formation in CD44-deficient fibroblasts compared with wild-type fibroblasts. (A) Primary fibroblasts stained with phalloidin reveal that CD44WT cells have increased stress fibers compared with CD44KO fibroblasts. Scale bar: 50 µm. (B) Quantification of fluorescent intensity across the lines shown in the corresponding panels in A, indicative of stress fiber density, using Image Pro software. Asterisks demarcate cells being quantified in A and their corresponding line graphs in B. (C) Cells were grown to subconfluence on glass coverslips and stained for total F-actin (Rhodamine-phalloidin) and vinculin. Overlay images were obtained where yellow fluorescence represents focal adhesions in CD44WT (top panel) and CD44KO (bottom panel) fibroblasts. Scale bar: 20 µm.