This project was supported by the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT (R.K. and J.M.K.) and the NSF CAREER award 0952493 to R.K. through the Chemical and Biological Separations program. We thank the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN) and the Microsystems Technology Laboratory (MTL) at MIT for use of their facilities.

1. HL60 cell rolling
1.1. Fabrication of Patterned Substrates.
<ol>
	<li>Using microcontact printing (&mu;CP)4-7 to make alternating self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of PEG molecules on the gold-coated glass slides: Fabricate microcontact printing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamps that defined the receptor patterns with inclination angle of &alpha; = 10&deg; by an SU-8 molding process. Clean the gold surface with piranha solution (3:1 mixture of sulfuric acid to 30% hydrogen peroxide) for 20 minutes and then rinse the surface with copious DI water at 24.5 &deg;C prior to use. Ink the PDMS stamp with 5mM PEG solution in ethanol. Dry the stamp in air for 20 minutes. Gently put the stamp on the gold surface for 40 sec and make sure there is a good contact between the gold surface and the stamp. No excess pressure is required. Rinse the surface with ethanol and dry it under a stream of N2.</li>
	<li>Incubate the substrate within P-selectin solution (15 &mu;g/mL in DPBS) using a perfusion chamber (Electron Microscopy Sciences) for 3 hours at 24.5&deg;C to pattern the remaining areas with P-selectin. Rinse the surface with copious DPBS.</li>
	<li>Backfill the surface with BSA (1 mg/mL in DPBS) for 1 h to block non-specific interactions.&nbsp; Rinse the surface with copious DPBS.</li>
</ol>
1.2. Cell Rolling Experiments in a Flow Chamber.
<ol>
	<li>Flow a suspension of HL60 cells (~105 cells/mL) over the patterned surfaces in a rectangular flow chamber (Glycotech, Inc; width w = 1.0 cm; length = 6 cm; height h = 0.0127 cm) at 24.5&deg;C. Use a syringe pump (World Precision Instruments, SP230IW) to generate flow rate of 75 &mu;L/min, with corresponding shear stress around 0.5 dyn/cm2 (~0.05 Pa). Calculate shear stress &tau; by using the plane Poiseuille flow equation &tau; = 6&mu;Q/wh2, where &mu; is the kinematic viscosity (0.001002 Pa s), Q is volumetric flow rate, w is width of the flow chamber, and h is height of the flow chamber.</li>
	<li>Use an inverted microscope (Nikon TE2000-U) with a mounted camera (Andor iXon 885) to record HL60 cells rolling interactions with adhesive P-selectin substrates using a 4&times; objective, typically at a rate of 1 frame per second for durations of 300 s. Perform three independent experiments, for each shear stress magnitude and pattern inclination angle. Present data as mean and standard deviation of the average values obtained from each experiment.</li>
	<li>Data Analysis. 
	Analyze the image sequences by a customized Matlab (Mathworks, Inc.) program that utilized a particle tracking freeware8 to generate tracks along the patterned line edges. Tracks extending till the end of a P-selectin band are selected and fitted with two straight line segments - one aligned with the flow, the other aligned with the pattern edge. These two segments are then used to calculate the edge tracking length, rolling velocity on the edge, and rolling velocity on the plain region.</li>
</ol>
2. Representative Results:
<img src="/files/ftp_upload/2640/2640fig1.jpg" alt="Figure 1" /> 
Figure (A) shows one of microscope images converted from the video of HL60 rolling interactions with adhesive P-selectin substrates using a 4&times; objective. Bright and dark regions correspond to P-selectin receptor and PEG regions, respectively. Figure (B) shows the tracks obtained using a customized Matlab program. The edge inclination angle was 10&deg; and the shear stress was 0.5 dyn/cm2. The edge tracking length, le, displacement, d, and the rolling velocities on the edge and inside the bands, Ve and Vp, respectively, are described in Figure (C-1). Figure (C-2) shows the distribution (the number of recorded cells) of edge tracking length. Insets show the average value of le and the rolling velocity on the edge (Ve) and inside the bands (Vp) at the inclination angle &alpha; =10&deg; and the fluid shear stress magnitude around 0.5 dyn/cm2. Error bars represent one standard deviation, where n = 3 replicate experiments (3 replicate surfaces) for each condition.

<ol>
	<li>Karnik, R., Hong, S., Zhang, H., Mei, Y., Anderson, D. G., Karp, J. M., Langer, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Nanomechanical+control+of+cell+rolling+in+two+dimensions+through+surface+Patterning+of+receptors.">Nanomechanical control of cell rolling in two dimensions through surface Patterning of receptors.</a> Nano Lett. 8 (4), 1153-1158 (2008).</li><li>Lee, C. H., Bose, S., Van Vliet, K. J., Karp, J. M., Karnik, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Examining+Lateral+Displacement+of+HL60+Cells+Rolling+on+Asymmetric+P-selectin+Patterns.">Examining Lateral Displacement of HL60 Cells Rolling on Asymmetric P-selectin Patterns.</a> Langmuir. 27 (1), 240-249 (2011).</li><li>Norman, K. E., Moore, K. L., McEver, R. P., Ley, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Leukocyte+rolling+in-vivo+is+mediated+by+p-selectin+glycoprotein+ligand-1.">Leukocyte rolling in-vivo is mediated by p-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1.</a> Blood. 86 (12), 4417-4421 (1995).</li><li>Bernard, A., Delamarche, E., Schmid, H., Michel, B., Bosshard, H. R., Biebuyck, H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Printing+patterns+of+proteins.">Printing patterns of proteins.</a> Langmuir. 14 (9), 2225-2229 (1998).</li><li>James, C. D., Davis, R. C., Kam, L., Craighead, H. G., Isaacson, M., Turner, J. N., Shain, W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Patterned+protein+layers+on+solid+substrates+by+thin+stamp+microcontact+printing.">Patterned protein layers on solid substrates by thin stamp microcontact printing.</a> Langmuir. 14 (4), 741-744 (1998).</li><li>Mrksich, M., Whitesides, G. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Using+self-assembled+monolayers+to+understand+the+interactions+of+man-made+surfaces+with+proteins+and+cells.">Using self-assembled monolayers to understand the interactions of man-made surfaces with proteins and cells.</a> Annual Review of Biophysics and Biomolecular Structure. 25, 55-78 (1996).</li><li>Tan, J. L., Tien, J., Chen, C. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Microcontact+printing+of+proteins+on+mixed+self-assembled+monolayers.">Microcontact printing of proteins on mixed self-assembled monolayers.</a> Langmuir. 18 (2), 519-523 (2002).</li><li>Lee, D., King, M. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Microcontact+Printing+of+P-Selectin+Increases+the+Rate+of+Neutrophil+Recruitment+Under+Shear+Flow.">Microcontact Printing of P-Selectin Increases the Rate of Neutrophil Recruitment Under Shear Flow.</a> Biotechnology Progress. 24 (5), 1052-1059 .</li><li>Greenberg, A. W., Hammer, D. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cell+separation+mediated+by+differential+rolling+adhesion.">Cell separation mediated by differential rolling adhesion.</a> Biotechnol. Bioeng. 73 (2), 111-124 (2001).</li><li>Higuchi, A., Tsukamoto, Y. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cell+separation+of+hepatocytes+and+fibroblasts+through+surface-modified+polyurethane+membranes.">Cell separation of hepatocytes and fibroblasts through surface-modified polyurethane membranes.</a> J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Part A. 71A (3), 470-479 (2004).</li><li>Alexeev, A., Verberg, R., Balazs, A. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Patterned+surfaces+segregate+compliant+microcapsules.">Patterned surfaces segregate compliant microcapsules.</a> Langmuir. 23 (3), 983-987 (2007).</li></ol>

No conflicts of interest declared.

We have described a protocol to examine cell rolling trajectories on asymmetric receptor-patterned surfaces fabricated using microcontact printing2. The optical microscope images of patterned surface showing clear contrast between PEG and P-selectin areas can be used to confirm whether stamping is successful. Sharp, straight edges can be observed when the stamping is performed well. Hard pressing of the stamp may result in stamp deformation which limits the precision of patterns. Wavy edges may be obtained whe...

<table><tbody><tr><td>Human promyelocytic leukemia cells</td><td>ATCC</td><td>CCL-240</td><td>HL60 cells</td></tr><tr><td>Gold-coated glass slides</td><td>EMF</td><td>TA134</td><td>Gold slides</td></tr><tr><td>(1-Mercaptoundec-11-yl)tetra(ethylene glycol)</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>674508</td><td>PEG</td></tr><tr><td>Recombinant human P-selectin</td><td>R&amp;amp;D Systems</td><td>ADP3-050</td><td>P-selectin</td></tr><tr><td>Bovine serum albumin</td><td>Rockland Immunochemicals</td><td>BSA-50</td><td>BSA</td></tr><tr><td>Dulbecco&amp;rsquo;s phosphate buffered saline </td><td>Mediatech, Inc.</td><td>21-030</td><td>DPBS</td></tr><tr><td>Sulfuric acid </td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>339741</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hydrogen peroxide</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>316989</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

studying cell rolling trajectories on asymmetric receptor patterns

Lateral displacement of cells orthogonal to a flow stream by rolling on asymmetric receptor patterns presents an opportunity for development of new devices for label-free separation and analysis of cells1. Such devices may use lateral displacement for continuous-flow separation, or receptor patterns that modulate adhesion to distinguish between different cell phenotypes or levels of receptor expression. Understanding the nature of cell rolling trajectories on receptor-patterned substrates is necessary for engineering of the substrates and design of such devices.
Here, we demonstrate a protocol for studying cell rolling trajectories on asymmetric receptor patterns that support cell rolling adhesion2. Well-defined, &mu;m-scale patterns of P-selectin receptors were fabricated using microcontact printing on gold-coated slides that were incorporated in a flow chamber. HL60 cells expressing the PSGL-1 ligand 3were flowed across a field of patterned lines and visualized on an inverted bright field microscope. The cells rolled and tracked along the inclined edges of the patterns, resulting in lateral deflection1. Each cell typically rolled for a certain distance along the pattern edges (defined as the edge tracking length), detached from the edge, and reattached to a downstream pattern. Although this detachment makes it difficult to track the entire trajectory of a cell from entrance to exit in the flow chamber, particle-tracking software was used to analyze and yield the rolling trajectories of the cells during the time when they were moving on a single receptor-patterned line. The trajectories were then examined to obtain distributions of cell rolling velocities and the edge tracking lengths for each cell for different patterns.
This protocol is useful for quantifying cell rolling trajectories on receptor patterns and relating these to engineering parameters such as pattern angle and shear stress. Such data will be useful for design of microfluidic devices for label-free cell separation and analysis.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Studying Cell Rolling Trajectories on Asymmetric Receptor Patterns at JoVE.com

Studying Cell Rolling Trajectories on Asymmetric Receptor Patterns

We describe a protocol to observe and analyze cell rolling trajectories on asymmetric receptor-patterned substrates. The resulting data are useful for engineering of receptor-patterned substrates for label-free cell separation and analysis.

Lateral displacement of cells orthogonal to a flow stream by rolling on asymmetric receptor patterns presents an opportunity for development of new ...

studying-cell-rolling-trajectories-on-asymmetric-receptor-patterns

Research

JoVE Journal

Bioengineering

9.5K Views.  MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Beschrijven we een protocol om te observeren en cel-rollen trajecten te analyseren op asymmetrische receptor-patroon substraten. De resulterende gegevens zijn nuttig voor de engineering van receptor-patroon substraten voor label-free cell scheiding en analyse.

Video: Studying Cell Rolling Trajectories on Asymmetric Receptor Patterns

Creating Adhesive and Soluble Gradients for Imaging Cell Migration with Fluorescence Microscopy

Cells can sense and migrate towards higher concentrations of adhesive cues such as the glycoproteins of the extracellular matrix and soluble cues such as growth factors. Here, we outline a method to create opposing gradients of adhesive and soluble cues in a microfluidic chamber, which is compatible with live cell imaging. A copolymer of poly-L-lysine and polyethylene glycol (PLL-PEG) is employed to passivate glass coverslips and prevent non-specific adsorption of biomolecules and cells. Next, microcontact printing or dip pen lithography are used to create tracks of streptavidin on the passivated surfaces to serve as anchoring points for the biotinylated peptide arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) as the adhesive cue. A microfluidic device is placed onto the modified surface and used to create the gradient of adhesive cues (100% RGD to 0% RGD) on the streptavidin tracks. Finally, the same microfluidic device is used to create a gradient of a chemoattractant such as fetal bovine serum (FBS), as the soluble cue in the opposite direction of the gradient of adhesive cues.

A method for the assembly of adhesive and soluble gradients in a microscopy chamber for live cell migration studies is described. The engineered environment combines antifouling surfaces and adhesive tracks with solution gradients and therefore allows one to determine the relative importance of guidance cues.

Cells can sense and migrate towards higher concentrations of adhesive cues such as the glycoproteins of the extracellular matrix and soluble cues such as ...

Systematic Analysis of In Vitro Cell Rolling Using a Multi-well Plate Microfluidic System

A major challenge for cell-based therapy is the inability to systemically target a large quantity of viable cells with high efficiency to tissues of interest following intravenous or intraarterial infusion. Consequently, increasing cell homing is currently studied as a strategy to improve cell therapy. Cell rolling on the vascular endothelium is an important step in the process of cell homing and can be probed in-vitro using a parallel plate flow chamber (PPFC). However, this is an extremely tedious, low throughput assay, with poorly controlled flow conditions. Instead, we used a multi-well plate microfluidic system that enables study of cellular rolling properties in a higher throughput under precisely controlled, physiologically relevant shear flow1,2. In this paper, we show how the rolling properties of HL-60 (human promyelocytic leukemia) cells on P- and E-selectin-coated surfaces as well as on cell monolayer-coated surfaces can be readily examined. To better simulate inflammatory conditions, the microfluidic channel surface was coated with endothelial cells (ECs), which were then activated with tumor necrosis factor-&#945; (TNF-&#945;), significantly increasing interactions with HL-60 cells under dynamic conditions. The enhanced throughput and integrated multi-parameter software analysis platform, that permits rapid analysis of parameters such as rolling velocities and rolling path, are important advantages for assessing cell rolling properties in-vitro. Allowing rapid and accurate analysis of engineering approaches designed to impact cell rolling and homing, this platform may help advance exogenous cell-based therapy.

Systematic Analysis of In Vitro Cell Rolling Using a Multi-well Plate Microfluidic System

This study used a multi-well plate microfluidic system, significantly increasing throughput of cell rolling studies under physiologically relevant shear flow. Given the importance of cell rolling in the multi-step cell homing cascade and the importance of cell homing following systemic delivery of exogenous populations of cells in patients, this system offers potential as a screening platform to improve cell-based therapy.

A major challenge for cell-based therapy is the inability to systemically target a large quantity of viable cells with high efficiency to tissues of ...

Analysis of Physiologic E-Selectin-Mediated Leukocyte Rolling on Microvascular Endothelium

E-selectin is a type-1 membrane protein on microvascular endothelial cells that helps initiate recruitment of circulating leukocytes to cutaneous, bone and inflamed tissues.  E-selectin expression is constitutive on dermal and bone microvessels and is inducible by pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1&#945;/  and TNF-&#945;, on microvessels in inflamed tissues.  This lectin receptor mediates weak binding interactions with carbohydrate counter-receptor ligands on circulating leukocytes, which results in a characteristic  rolling  behavior.  Because these interactions precede more stable adhesive events and diapedesis activity, characterization of leukocyte rolling activity and identification of leukocyte E-selectin ligands have been major goals in studies of leukocyte trafficking and inflammation and in the development of anti-inflammatory therapeutics (1-5).  The intent of this report is to provide a visual, comprehensive description of the most widely-used technology for studying E-selectin   E-selectin ligand interactions under physiologic blood flow conditions.  Our laboratory in conjunction with the Harvard Skin Disease Research Center uses a state-of-the-art parallel-plate flow chamber apparatus accompanied by digital visualization and new recording software, NIS-Elements.  This technology allows us to analyze adhesion events in real time for onscreen visualization as well as record rolling activity in a video format.  Cell adhesion parameters, such as rolling frequency, shear resistance and binding/tethering efficiency, are calculated with NIS-Elements software, exported to an Excel spreadsheet and subjected to statistical analysis.  In the demonstration presented here, we employed the parallel-plate flow chamber to investigate E-selectin-dependent leukocyte rolling activity on live human bone marrow endothelial cells (hBMEC).  Human hematopoietic progenitor KG1a cells, which express a high level of E-selectin ligand, were used as our leukocyte model, while an immortalized hBMEC cell line, HBMEC-60 cells, was used as our endothelial cell model (6).  To induce and simulate native E-selectin expression in the flow chamber, HBMEC-60 cells were first activated with IL-1 .  Our video presentation showed that parallel-plate flow analysis is a suitable method for studying physiologic E-selectin-mediated leukocyte rolling activities and that functional characterization of leukocyte E-selectin ligand(s) in the flow chamber can be ascertained by implementing protease or glycosidase digestions.

This report provides a visual depiction of parallel-plate flow chamber analysis for studying leukocyte endothelial interactions under physiologic shear stress. This method is particularly useful for investigating the role of endothelial (E)-selectin and leukocyte E-selectin ligands that trigger leukocyte rolling on endothelial cell surfaces.

E-selectin is a type-1 membrane protein on microvascular endothelial cells that helps initiate recruitment of circulating leukocytes to cutaneous, bone ...

Biology

High-resolution Spatiotemporal Analysis of Receptor Dynamics by Single-molecule Fluorescence Microscopy

Single-molecule microscopy is emerging as a powerful approach to analyze the behavior of signaling molecules, in particular concerning those aspect (e.g., kinetics, coexistence of different states and populations, transient interactions), which are typically hidden in ensemble measurements, such as those obtained with standard biochemical or microscopy methods. Thus, dynamic events, such as receptor-receptor interactions, can be followed in real time in a living cell with high spatiotemporal resolution. This protocol describes a method based on labeling with small and bright organic fluorophores and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy to directly visualize single receptors on the surface of living cells. This approach allows one to precisely localize receptors, measure the size of receptor complexes, and capture dynamic events such as transient receptor-receptor interactions. The protocol provides a detailed description of how to perform a single-molecule experiment, including sample preparation, image acquisition and image analysis. As an example, the application of this method to analyze two G-protein-coupled receptors, i.e., &#946;2-adrenergic and &#947;-aminobutyric acid type B (GABAB) receptor, is reported. The protocol can be adapted to other membrane proteins and different cell models, transfection methods and labeling strategies.

This protocol describes how to use total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy to visualize and track single receptors on the surface of living cells and thereby analyze receptor lateral mobility, size of receptor complexes as well as to visualize transient receptor-receptor interactions. This protocol can be extended to other membrane proteins.

Single-molecule microscopy is emerging as a powerful approach to analyze the behavior of signaling molecules, in particular concerning those aspect (e.g., ...

Traction Microscopy Integrated with Microfluidics for Chemotactic Collective Migration

Cells change migration patterns in response to chemical stimuli, including the gradients of the stimuli. Cellular migration in the direction of a chemical gradient, known as chemotaxis, plays an important role in development, the immune response, wound healing, and cancer metastasis. While chemotaxis modulates the migration of single cells as well as collections of cells in vivo, in vitro research focuses on single-cell chemotaxis, partly due to the lack of the proper experimental tools. To fill that gap, described here is a unique experimental system that combines microfluidics and micropatterning to demonstrate the effects of chemical gradients on collective cell migration. Furthermore, traction microscopy and monolayer stress microscopy are incorporated into the system to characterize changes in cellular force on the substrate as well as between neighboring cells. As proof-of-concept, the migration of micropatterned circular islands of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells is tested under a gradient of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a known scattering factor. It is found that cells located near the higher concentration of HGF migrate faster than those on the opposite side within a cell island. Within the same island, cellular traction is similar on both sides, but intercellular stress is much lower on the side of higher HGF concentration. This novel experimental system can provide new opportunities to studying the mechanics of chemotactic migration by cellular collectives.

Collective cell migration in development, wound healing, and cancer metastasis is often guided by the gradients of growth factors or signaling molecules. Described here is an experimental system combining traction microscopy with a microfluidic system and a demonstration of how to quantify the mechanics of collective migration under biochemical gradient.

Cells change migration patterns in response to chemical stimuli, including the gradients of the stimuli. Cellular migration in the direction of a chemical ...

A Simplified System for Evaluating Cell Mechanosensing and Durotaxis In Vitro

The composition and mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix are highly variable between tissue types. This connective tissue stroma diversity greatly impacts cell behavior to regulate normal and pathologic processes including cell proliferation, differentiation, adhesion signaling and directional migration. In this regard, the innate ability of certain cell types to migrate towards a stiffer, or less compliant matrix substrate is referred to as durotaxis. This phenomenon plays an important role during embryonic development, wound repair and cancer cell invasion. Here, we describe a straightforward assay to study durotaxis, in vitro, using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates. Preparation of the described durotaxis chambers creates a rigidity interface between the relatively soft PDMS gel and a rigid glass coverslip. In the example provided, we have used these durotaxis chambers to demonstrate a role for the cdc42/Rac1 GTPase activating protein, cdGAP, in mechanosensing and durotaxis regulation in human U2OS osteosarcoma cells. This assay is readily adaptable to other cell types and/or knockdown of other proteins of interests to explore their respective roles in mechanosignaling and durotaxis.

A Simplified System for Evaluating Cell Mechanosensing and Durotaxis In Vitro

Many mammalian cells preferentially migrate towards a more rigid matrix or substrate through durotaxis. The goal of this protocol is to provide a simple in vitro system that can be used to study and manipulate cell durotaxis behaviors by incorporating polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates of defined rigidity, interfacing with glass coverslips.

The composition and mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix are highly variable between tissue types. This connective tissue stroma diversity ...

Imaging G Protein-coupled Receptor-mediated Chemotaxis and its Signaling Events in Neutrophil-like HL60 Cells

Eukaryotic cells sense and move towards a chemoattractant gradient, a cellular process referred as chemotaxis. Chemotaxis plays critical roles in many physiological processes, such as embryogenesis, neuron patterning, metastasis of cancer cells, recruitment of neutrophils to sites of inflammation, and the development of the model organism Dictyostelium discoideum. Eukaryotic cells sense chemo-attractants using G protein-coupled receptors. Visual chemotaxis assays are essential for a better understanding of how eukaryotic cells control chemoattractant-mediated directional cell migration. Here, we describe detailed methods for: 1) real-time, high-resolution monitoring of multiple chemotaxis assays, and 2) simultaneously visualizing the chemoattractant gradient and the spatiotemporal dynamics of signaling events in neutrophil-like HL60 cells.

Visual chemotaxis assays are essential for a better understanding of how eukaryotic cells control chemoattractant-mediated directional cell migration. Here, we describe detailed methods for: 1) real-time, high-resolution monitoring of multiple chemotaxis assays, and 2) simultaneously visualizing the chemoattractant gradient and the spatiotemporal dynamics of signaling events in neutrophil-like HL60 cells.

Eukaryotic cells sense and move towards a chemoattractant gradient, a cellular process referred as chemotaxis. Chemotaxis plays critical roles in many ...

Single Cell Durotaxis Assay for Assessing Mechanical Control of Cellular Movement and Related Signaling Events

Durotaxis is the process by which cells sense and respond to gradients of tension. In order to study this process in vitro, the stiffness of the substrate underlying a cell must be manipulated. While hydrogels with graded stiffness and long-term migration assays have proven useful in durotaxis studies, immediate, acute responses to local changes in substrate tension allow focused study of individual cell movements and subcellular signaling events. To repeatably test the ability of cells to sense and respond to the underlying substrate stiffness, a modified method for application of acute gradients of increased tension to individual cells cultured on deformable hydrogels is used which allows for real time manipulation of the strength and direction of stiffness gradients imparted upon cells in question. Additionally, by fine tuning the details and parameters of the assay, such as the shape and dimensions of the micropipette or the relative position, placement, and direction of the applied gradient, the assay can be optimized for the study of any mechanically sensitive cell type and system. These parameters can be altered to reliably change the applied stimulus and expand the functionality and versatility of the assay. This method allows examination of both long term durotactic movement as well as more immediate changes in cellular signaling and morphological dynamics in response to changing stiffness.

Mechanical forces are important for controlling cell migration. This protocol demonstrates the use of elastic hydrogels that can be deformed using a glass micropipette and a micromanipulator to stimulate cells with a local stiffness gradient to elicit changes in cell structure and migration.

Durotaxis is the process by which cells sense and respond to gradients of tension. In order to study this process in vitro, the stiffness of the substrate ...

Quantitative Analysis of Cell Edge Dynamics during Cell Spreading

Cell spreading is a dynamic process in which a cell suspended in media attaches to a substrate and flattens itself from a rounded to a thin and spread-out shape. Following the cell-substrate attachment, the cell forms a thin sheet of lamellipodia emanating from the cell body. In the lamellipodia, globular actin (G-actin) monomers polymerize into a dense filamentous actin (F-actin) meshwork that pushes against the plasma membrane, thereby providing the mechanical forces required for the cell to spread. Notably, the molecular players that control the actin polymerization in lamellipodia are essential for many other cellular processes, such as cell migration and endocytosis. 
Since spreading cells form continuous lamellipodia that span the entire cell periphery and persistently expand outward, cell spreading assays have become an efficient tool to assess the kinetics of lamellipodial protrusions. Although several technical implementations of the cell spreading assay have been developed, a detailed description of the workflow, which would include both a step-by-step protocol and computational tools for data analysis, is currently lacking. Here, we describe the experimental procedures of the cell spreading assay and present an open-source tool for quantitative and unbiased analysis of cell edge dynamics during spreading. When combined with pharmacological manipulations and/or gene-silencing techniques, this protocol is amenable to a large-scale screen of molecular players regulating lamellipodial protrusions.

In this protocol, we present the experimental procedures of a cell spreading assay that is based on live-cell microscopy. We provide an open-source computational tool for the unbiased segmentation of fluorescently labeled cells and quantitative analysis of lamellipodia dynamics during cell spreading.

Cell spreading is a dynamic process in which a cell suspended in media attaches to a substrate and flattens itself from a rounded to a thin and spread-out ...

Imaging Molecular Adhesion in Cell Rolling by Adhesion Footprint Assay

Rolling adhesion, facilitated by selectin-mediated interactions, is a highly dynamic, passive motility in recruiting leukocytes to the site of inflammation. This phenomenon occurs in postcapillary venules, where blood flow pushes leukocytes in a rolling motion on the endothelial cells. Stable rolling requires a delicate balance between adhesion bond formation and their mechanically-driven dissociation, allowing the cell to remain attached to the surface while rolling in the direction of flow. Unlike other adhesion processes occurring in relatively static environments, rolling adhesion is highly dynamic as the rolling cells travel over thousands of microns at tens of microns per second. Consequently, conventional mechanobiology methods such as traction force microscopy are unsuitable for measuring the individual adhesion events and the associated molecular forces due to the short timescale and high sensitivity required. Here, we describe our latest implementation of the adhesion footprint assay to image the P-selectin: PSGL-1 interactions in rolling adhesion at the molecular level. This method utilizes irreversible DNA-based tension gauge tethers to produce a permanent history of molecular adhesion events in the form of fluorescence tracks. These tracks can be imaged in two ways: (1) stitching together thousands of diffraction-limited images to produce a large field of view, enabling the extraction of adhesion footprint of each rolling cell over thousands of microns in length, (2) performing DNA-PAINT to reconstruct super-resolution images of the fluorescence tracks within a small field of view. In this study, the adhesion footprint assay was used to study HL-60 cells rolling at different shear stresses. In doing so, we were able to image the spatial distribution of the P-selectin: PSGL-1 interaction and gain insight into their molecular forces through fluorescence intensity. Thus, this method provides the groundwork for the quantitative investigation of the various cell-surface interactions involved in rolling adhesion at the molecular level.

This protocol presents the experimental procedures to perform the adhesion footprint assay to image the adhesion events during fast cell rolling adhesion.

Studying Cell Rolling Trajectories on Asymmetric Receptor Patterns

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