*2.8. Focal Adhesion Area Measurement*

Focal adhesion area was measured using ImageJ software [33]. Briefly, the original image of immunofluorescence was firstly subtracted the local background by applying SUBSTRACT BACKGROUND. Then, the local contrast of the image was enhanced by adjusting Contrast Limit Histogram Equalization. Mathematical exponential and BRIGHT-NESS & CONTRAST tool were used for further minimizing the background. Next, we used the LOD3D plugin to filter the image and ran the THRESHOLD command to convert the image to a binary image. Finally, ANALYSE PARTICLES command was executed to scan the binary image and find the edge of focal adhesions.
