microphotography

Breast Tumour Fibroblasts – 2D Culture
Author: Justyna Czapla

Fibroblasts (connective tissue cells) derived from a breast tumour.
Fibroblasts associated with cancer cells act as a kind of scaffold – they stimulate tumour cell proliferation and protect them from death.
The cytoskeleton, which defines the cell’s shape, is shown in red, while the nuclei are stained blue.

Colorectal Cancer Tissue
Author: Justyna Czapla

Blood vessel cells present within the tumour tissue of colorectal cancer.
Blood vessels supply all cells of the body — including cancer cells — with oxygen and nutrients, enabling their growth and division.
The nuclei of all cells within the cancerous tissue are stained blue.
Tumour-associated blood vessels are stained green and red.

Breast Cancer Cells – 2D Culture
Author: Justyna Czapla

Cancer cells together with fibroblasts (connective tissue cells).
Fibroblasts associated with cancer cells serve as a structural framework, stimulate their division, and protect them from dying.
The nuclei of cancer cells are stained blue, while the fibroblasts are stained red.

Genetically Modified Adipose Tissue Cells
Author: Justyna Czapla

Normal adipose (fat) tissue cells have been genetically modified to produce a cytotoxic protein — interleukin 12 — capable of destroying cancer cells.
These cells may be used as a form of anticancer therapy.
Cells secreting interleukin 12 are stained red.

Melanoma Tumor Tissue
Author: Alina Drzyzga

Immune system cells – macrophages and lymphocytes – present within melanoma tumour tissue.
In the upper panel, macrophages in melanoma tissue are shown in red, while a specific subgroup of macrophages that promote tumour development is shown in green.
In images 3 and 4, cytotoxic T lymphocytes – responsible for recognising and destroying cancer cells and triggering immune responses – are stained red and green.
Cell nuclei are shown in blue.

Melanoma Cancer Cells – 2D Culture
Author: Magdalena Jarosz-Biej

Melanoma cells exposed to a newly tested anticancer compound.
Melanoma cells are stained blue, and the anticancer substance is stained green.
The compound penetrates the cancer cells, accumulates inside them, and induces their death.

Normal Breast Cells – 3D Culture
Author: Natalia Vydra

Three-dimensional structures formed by non-cancerous breast cells.
The basal layer of the vesicle is stained green, the cellular cytoskeleton red, and the nuclei blue.
The image presents characteristic structures formed by healthy cells.

Normal and Cancerous Breast Cells – 3D Culture
Author: Natalia Vydra

Three-dimensional structures formed by normal breast cells (images 1 and 3) and by breast cancer cells (images 2 and 4).
The cytoskeleton is stained red, while the nuclei are stained blue.
Unlike cancer cells, healthy cells form regular, rounded vesicles.

Normal Heart Cells – 2D Culture
Author: Sybilla Matuszczak

Heart cells connect to one another through specific proteins.
The cytoskeleton, which provides the cell’s internal framework, is stained red.
Proteins responsible for intercellular connections are stained green.
Cell nuclei are shown in blue.

Cardiac Muscle Tissue
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) – present in cardiac muscle tissue
Authors: Sybilla Matuszczak, Justyna Czapla

Due to their ability to migrate to sites of inflammation, mesenchymal stromal cells can serve as carriers for therapeutic factors.
MSCs are stained green, while the released interleukin 6 is stained red.
Interleukin 6 is a factor that stimulates the regeneration of damaged tissue.
Cell nuclei are stained blue.

Adipose Tissue
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Derived from Adipose Tissue (ADSCs) – 2D Culture
Author: Ewelina Pilny

Adipose (fat) tissue can serve as a source of mesenchymal stromal cells for therapeutic purposes.
These cells may function as carriers of therapeutic factors.
The cytoskeleton, which provides the internal framework of ADSCs, is stained red, while the released interleukin 6 released is stained green.
Interleukin 6 stimulates the regeneration of damaged tissue.
Cell nuclei are stained blue.

Normal and Cancerous Cells – 2D Culture
Authors: Alina Drzyzga, Justyna Czapla

Different cell types vary in the presence of specific proteins – including those that can serve as targets for anticancer therapies.
The cellular cytoskeleton, forming the cell’s framework, is stained red.
The STING protein, an activator of the immune system’s anticancer response, is stained green.
Cell nuclei are stained blue.

Co-culture of Melanoma Cells and Immune Cells (Macrophages)
Authors: Justyna Czapla, Sybilla Matuszczak

Immune cells can eliminate cancer cells through various mechanisms.
The cytoskeleton of melanoma cells is stained red, and macrophages are stained green.
Macrophages have the ability to “engulf” cancer cells, resulting in the overlap of red and green signals – visible as orange areas.
Cell nuclei are stained blue.