title: Microfluidic platform to evaluate migration of cells from patients with DYT1 dystonia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Microfluidic platforms for quantitative evaluation of cell biologic processes allow low cost and time efficient research studies of biological and pathological events, such as monitoring cell migration by real-time imaging. In healthy and disease states, cell migration is crucial in development and wound healing, as well as to maintain the body's homeostasis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The microfluidic chambers allow precise measurements to investigate whether fibroblasts carrying a mutation in the TOR1A gene, underlying the hereditary neurologic disease--DYT1 dystonia, have decreased migration properties when compared to control cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed that fibroblasts from DYT1 patients showed abnormalities in basic features of cell migration, such as reduced velocity and persistence of movement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The microfluidic method enabled us to demonstrate reduced polarization of the nucleus and abnormal orientation of nuclei and Golgi inside the moving DYT1 patient cells compared to control cells, as well as vectorial movement of single cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We report here different assays useful in determining various parameters of cell migration in DYT1 patient cells as a consequence of the TOR1A gene mutation, including a microfluidic platform, which provides a means to evaluate real-time vectorial movement with single cell resolution in a three-dimensional environment.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurogenetics Unit, Neuroscience Center, Department of Neurology and Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Flavia C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Nery
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurogenetics Unit, Neuroscience Center, Department of Neurology and Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.|Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Academic Medical Center (AMC), University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nadia A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Atai
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurogenetics Unit, Neuroscience Center, Department of Neurology and Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Cintia C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: da Hora
authors.affiliation: The CBR Institute for Biomedical Research and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA/Department of Pathology and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Edward Y
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurogenetics Unit, Neuroscience Center, Department of Neurology and Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Jasmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hettich
authors.affiliation: The CBR Institute for Biomedical Research and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA/Department of Pathology and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Thorsten R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Mempel
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurogenetics Unit, Neuroscience Center, Department of Neurology and Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Xandra O
authors.initials: XO
authors.lastname: Breakefield
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, GERMANY.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Irimia
mesh_terms: D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D002466:Cell Nucleolus / Q000378:metabolism; D004422:Dystonia Musculorum Deformans / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006056:Golgi Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000379:methods*; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000235:genetics; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018832:Molecular Chaperones; C108175:TOR1A protein, human
keywords: Cell polarization; DYT1; Dystonia; Microfluidic device; Migration; TorsinA