title: Concentric gel system to study the biophysical role of matrix microenvironment on 3D cell migration.
abstract: The ability of cells to migrate is crucial in a wide variety of cell functions throughout life from embryonic development and wound healing to tumor and cancer metastasis. Despite intense research efforts, the basic biochemical and biophysical principles of cell migration are still not fully understood, especially in the physiologically relevant three-dimensional (3D) microenvironments. Here, we describe an in vitro assay designed to allow quantitative examination of 3D cell migration behaviors. The method exploits the cell's mechanosensing ability and propensity to migrate into previously unoccupied extracellular matrix (ECM). We use the invasion of highly invasive breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231, in collagen gels as a model system. The spread of cell population and the migration dynamics of individual cells over weeks of culture can be monitored using live-cell imaging and analyzed to extract spatiotemporally-resolved data. Furthermore, the method is easily adaptable for diverse extracellular matrices, thus offering a simple yet powerful way to investigate the role of biophysical factors in the microenvironment on cell migration.
authors: Systems Biophysics Department, FOM Institute AMOLF; kurniawan@amolf.nl.
authors: Nicholas Agung
authors: NA
authors: Kurniawan
authors: Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore.
authors: Parthiv Kant
authors: PK
authors: Chaudhuri
authors: Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore; Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore.
authors: Chwee Teck
authors: CT
authors: Lim
mesh_terms: D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D058948:Cell Tracking / Q000379:methods; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry; D003584:Cytological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005782:Gels; D003094:Collagen