College of The Holy Cross

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Developmental Biology

Optimization of the Wound Scratch Assay to Detect Changes in Murine Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Migration After Damage by Soluble Cigarette Smoke Extract

Nicholas Cormier^*1, Alexander Yeo^*1, Elizabeth Fiorentino¹, Julia Paxson¹

¹Department of Biology, College of the Holy Cross

The capacity to migrate is a key function of many different cell types, including mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). However, quantifying alterations in migratory capacity after damage is challenging. This protocol describes an easily adaptable migration assay that uses rigorous statistics to quantify changes in MSC migratory capacity after damage.

Neuroscience

A Behavioral Assay for Mechanosensation of MARCM-based Clones in Drosophila melanogaster

Timothy P. Murphy^1,2, Dan D. Luu¹, Jessica A. DeSimone^1,3, Thomas C. O'Brien^1,4, Christopher J. Lally^1,5, Jillian J. Lindblad^1,6, Sarah M. Webster¹

¹Department of Biology, College of the Holy Cross, ²School of Medicine, Georgetown University, ³Department of Biochemistry, Giesel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, ⁴School of Medicine, Tufts University, ⁵Transgenomic Inc., ⁶Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology, UMass Medical School

In order to identify novel mutations affecting mechanosensation, we designed an assay that measures the behavioral response to tactile stimulation of fly bristles in mutant clones generated by the MARCM method. The combination of techniques allows for the identification of mechanosensitive mutations that would otherwise be lethal.