Epithelial cells - scanning laser confocal microscopy

Cultured MDCK epithelial cells were stained for keratin, desmoplakin, and DNA. The stained cells were visualized by scanning laser confocal microscopy. The image shows how keratin cytoskeletal filaments are concentrated around the edge of the cells and merge into the desmoplakin which is located at desmosomes of the surface membrane. The network of keratin to desmosome to keratin linking the cells of an epithelial sheet is what holds together tissues like skin.

Image courtesy of John Schmidt. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundadation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".