α-Catenin localizes in the lamellipodium at early times of cell spreading. (A) Representative images of three fibroblast cell lines immunostained for α-catenin after 15 min of spreading on FN-coated coverslips (left), along with the width of the catenin band at the cell edge, represented by full width half maximum (FWHM; center), and the percentage of cells from each fibroblast cell line with catenin at the cell-edge (right; n = 30 cells in each case). (B) WT MEFs costained for α-catenin and F-actin (phalloidin); the right panel is a zoom-in of the box in the left image, showing α-catenin stripes that coincide with stress fibers; the graphs on the right are the normalized intensities of phalloidin (magenta) and α-catenin (green) measured along the yellow lines in the merged image. (C) WT MEF costained for actin, α-catenin, and vinculin; right panel images are zoom-ins of the boxes in the merged image, showing vinculin and α-catenin in cell-matrix (top) and cell–cell (bottom) adhesions. (D) Zoom-in on the edge of a WT MEF cell costained for α-catenin and vinculin.