title: Three-dimensional cage-like microscaffolds for cell invasion studies.
abstract: Cancer cell motility is one of the major events involved in metastatic process. Tumor cells that disseminate from a primary tumor can migrate into the vascular system and, being carried by the bloodstream, transmigrate across the endothelium, giving rise to a new tumor site. However, during the invasive process, tumor cells must pass through the extracellular matrix, whose structural and mechanical properties define the parameters of the migration process. Here, we propose 3D-complex cage-like microstructures, realized by two-photon (TP) direct laser writing (DLW), to analyze cell migration through pores significantly smaller than the cell nucleus. We found that the ability to traverse differently sized pores depends on the metastatic potential and on the invasiveness of the cell lines, allowing to establish a pore-area threshold value able to discriminate between non-tumorigenic and tumorigenic human breast cells.
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Barsanti, 73010 Arnesano (Lecce), Italy [2] Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Innovazione, Università del Salento, via per Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Spagnolo
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Barsanti, 73010 Arnesano (Lecce), Italy.
authors.forename: Virgilio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brunetti
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Barsanti, 73010 Arnesano (Lecce), Italy.
authors.forename: Godefroy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leménager
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Barsanti, 73010 Arnesano (Lecce), Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Luca
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Barsanti, 73010 Arnesano (Lecce), Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sileo
authors.affiliation: Nanochemistry Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, 16163 Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pellegrino
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Barsanti, 73010 Arnesano (Lecce), Italy.
authors.forename: Pier
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paolo Pompa
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Barsanti, 73010 Arnesano (Lecce), Italy [2] Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Innovazione, Università del Salento, via per Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Vittorio
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Barsanti, 73010 Arnesano (Lecce), Italy.
authors.forename: Ferruccio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pisanello
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D006801:Humans; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D024507:Nonmuscle Myosin Type IIA / Q000378:metabolism; D059008:Time-Lapse Imaging
chemical_list: D024507:Nonmuscle Myosin Type IIA