Figure 6

Increased Akt activity leads to increased contractility and protection from apoptosis in collagen gels. A: HLF-F transfected cells with control plasmid HLF LacZ (pcDNA4.0-LacZ, left panel) or an active form of Akt HLF CA-AKT (pSG5-AKT GAG, right panel) were embedded in collagen gels, and contraction was analyzed 4 days later; B: % area contracted in respect to original area after 4 days is shown based on analysis of images like the ones shown in A); C: HLF-F transfected cells with control plasmid HLF LacZ (pcDNA4.0-LacZ, left panel) or an active form of Akt HLF CA-AKT (pSG5-AKT GAG, right panel) were embedded in collagen gels, and TUNEL staining was performed after 4 days in collagen matrix; D: % positive TUNEL cells obtained from analysis of pictures like those in B). Experiments were performed three times and one representative experiment is shown for each type, with mean ± SE shown (**P < 0.05, n = 3).