Analysis of cell migration using the Dunn chemotaxis chamber and time-lapse microscopy.
The directed migration of cells (chemotaxis) occurs not only during wound healing and inflammatory responses but also during embryonic development. However, the intracellular signaling pathways that enable a cell to detect a chemoattractant and subsequently migrate toward the source are not clearly defined. The Dunn chemotaxis chamber in conjunction with time-lapse microscopy is a powerful tool that enables the user to observe directly the morphological response of cells to a chemoattractant in real time. Here, we describe using the Dunn chemotaxis chamber to study the response of murine bone marrow-derived macrophages to colony stimulating factor-1. This is a particularly useful protocol as it can be adapted to study bone marrow-derived macrophages isolated from genetically modified mice and thus study the requirement for a specific protein in cell migration and chemotaxis.
Wells
Claire M
CM
Randall Centre, King's College London, London, UK.
Ridley
Anne J
AJ
D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D018715:Microscopy, Video / Q000379:methods