Figure 2

H&E-stained histologic sections of MCF10A cell and MCF10AT cell monocultures and co-cultures with fibroblasts. (a) MCF10A cells form small spheroids. (b) MCF10A cells in co-culture with fibroblasts are located adjacent to the fibroblast aggregate (F) and maintain smaller spheroids. (c) In monoculture, MCF10AT cells form larger rounded three-dimensional structures. (d) In co-culture, MCF10AT cells form solid sheets and rounded groups of cells located adjacent to the fibroblasts (F). The occurrence of squamous metaplasia (SM) is more evident in MCF10AT monocultures, while it is suppressed in co-cultures. Overall, MCF10A cells have less squamous metaplasia than MCF10AT cultures (400 × magnification; scale bar, 50 μm).