WAVE3 is involved in invadopodia formation and ECM degradation.

<p>(A) Confocal microscopic micrographs of MDA-MB-231 cells grown on FITC-labeled gelatin and stained for (a) F-actin filaments (red). The white arrow-heads point to invadopodia structures (white spots). (b) Areas of ECM degradation (black arrow-head) are shown as black spots. The invadopodia structures coincide with the areas of ECM degradation in the merged image (c). (d) In the 3-dimensional reconstructed image the black arrows point to invadopodia (red) infiltrating the gelatin bed (green). (B) Confocal microscopic micrographs of MDA-MB-231 cells grown on collagen-coated coverslips, treated with TNFα (50 ng/μl) for 15 min, and stained for WAVE3 (left panel) and Cortactin (middle panel). The arrow-heads point to areas with invadopodia where both Cortactin and WAVE3 colocalize in the merged image in the right panel (yellow spots).