C: collagen;
E: elastin;
M: metastatic cell.
Ruthenium is an electron dense atom and is
visible as black spots under electron microscopy
examination.
NAMI-A clearly lies along the collagen fibers
of the lung; no other extracellular matrix
constituent – in particular elastin,
also largely distributed in the lung –
shows the black spots of ruthenium, which
labels the lung collagen fibers (Figures b-d).
NAMI-A is particularly abundant around the
metastatic foci whose collagen-rich regions
are clearly electron-dense (Figure d).
