Cells Pushed Toward Metastasis (IMAGE) Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Caption Cells that express exon 6-truncated p53 protein exhibit structural features that reflect their reprogramming away from stability and toward proliferation and metastasis. This was apparent when Sordella's team compared cells that do not express the truncated form of the protein (left column) with those that do (right column). The two images at the top are composites, with blue indicating DNA (i.e., cell nuclei); and green and red corresponding, respectively, with the proteins actin and e-cadherin. Both are important in cell structure and in the degree to which cells are anchored in tissue. In the cells reprogrammed by truncated p53 proteins, actin fibers (middle image) show stress, while the signal from e-cadherin "glue" drops out altogether (bottom image). These cells are much more likely to break away from tissue and travel in the body -- i.e., become seeds for metastasis. Credit Sordella Lab, CSHL Usage Restrictions please give credit License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.