CNC explants were plated on fibronectin-coated cover glass slides (100 µg/ml). Following 5 h of culture, the explants were fixed in 4% formaldehyde in PBS for 1 h and blocked for 1 h in PBS with 1% BSA. The explants were incubated for 20 min with phalloidin–Alexa-Fluor-488 (1:100 in PBS, Life Technologies, A12379). Cover slides were mounted with Fluorescent Mounting Medium (Dako) that contained 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), and the staining was monitored with a Zeiss LSM 780 confocal microscope.
