Name: moving upwards: a simple and flexible in vitro three-dimensional invasion assay protocol
Uploaded: 2018-03-12T13:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Moving Upwards: A Simple and Flexible In Vitro Three-dimensional Invasion Assay Protocol at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIMHD-G12MD007581) through the RCMI-Center for Environmental Health at Jackson State University and the U.S. Department of Defense, Idea Award 11-1-0205.

NOTE: This protocol is described in McArdle et al.11. A timeline is provided in Figure 1.
1. Preparation of the culture plate
<ol>
	<li>Wash the 35-mm culture dish containing a 10-mm glass-bottom well with 1 mL of 1 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) for 15 min to lower the hydrophobicity of the glass-bottom.</li>
	<li>Wash the culture plate twice with 1 mL of phosphate buffer saline (PBS) to get rid of all the HCl.</li>
	<li>Wash the cul...

<ol>
	<li>Friedl, P., Brocker, E. B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+biology+of+cell+locomotion+within+three-dimensional+extracellular+matric.">The biology of cell locomotion within three-dimensional extracellular matric.</a> Cell Mol Life Sci. 57, 41-64 (2000).</li><li>Bissell, M. J., Rizki, A., Mian, I. 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J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Differing+modes+of+tumour+cell+invasion+have+distinct+requirements+for+Rho/ROCK+signalling+and+extracellular+proteolysis.">Differing modes of tumour cell invasion have distinct requirements for Rho/ROCK signalling and extracellular proteolysis.</a> Nat Cell Biol. 5, 711-719 (2003).</li><li>Kam, Y., Guess, C., Estrada, L., Weidow, B., Quaranta, V. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+novel+circular+invasion+assay+mimics+in+vivo+invasive+behavior+of+cancer+cell+lines+and+distinguishes+single-cell+motility+in+vitro.">A novel circular invasion assay mimics in vivo invasive behavior of cancer cell lines and distinguishes single-cell motility in vitro.</a> BMC Cancer. 8, 198 (2008).</li><li>Staton, C. A., Reed, M. W., Brown, N. 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Here, we describe a simple inverted vertical invasion assay which is convenient for a variety of cell types including cells that are rare and/or dependent on their microenvironment. In this 3D invasion assay, cells remain in their original microenvironment and are covered by the collagen gel containing a chemoattractant. The cells then migrate and invade in the collagen. In this assay, the cells can be stained and easily monitored within the gel. The simplicity and reproducibility of this assay makes it a convenient tool...

Cell motility is a normal developmental and physiological process of cells. However, changes in the pattern and the ability of cells to migrate and invade are associated with pathological conditions including inflammatory diseases and cancer metastasis1,2,3. Metastasis is arguably the most poorly understood aspect in cancer. To metastasize, cancer cells must degrade the extra cellular matrix (ECM), invade the local tissue and intravasate. Once in circulation, the cancer cells will disseminate to the distant site, extravasate and form secondary tumors. Therefore, the ability of cells to degrade the ECM, to migrate, and to invade is related to their metastatic potential. Different approaches have been developed to analyze and quantify the migration and invasion capabilities of cells. The most used approaches include the wound healing assay, time-lapse microscopy, and the Boyden chamber assay. The wound healing assay4 and time lapse microscopy are simple and convenient assays that would give preliminary insight into cell migration. However, both are 2D assays that do not reflect the 3D environment in which cells exist in vivo. Studies have shown that cells respond differently to a 3D environment compared to a 2D one5,6. Moreover, wound healing assays are difficult to reproduce and to yield quantitative results7,8,9. The Cell Exclusion Zone assay, which is a 3D modification of the wound healing assay, is a more physiologically relevant assay but it is not suitable for cells low in number such as hybrid cells resulting from cell fusion events10,11.
The Boyden chamber assay is a 3-dimensional assay that provides relevant microenvironments for cellular studies. However, it requires cells to be removed from their original microenvironment and to be deposited into the upper chamber of the Boyden assay system to migrate and invade downwards toward the chemoattractant containing medium. This 3D approach is not appropriate in analyzing the migration and invasion capability of cells vulnerable to their microenvironment and/or limited in number10,11,12. A newer approach to analyze cell migration and invasion is the microfluidic gradient chamber assay13. Although suitable and reliable in migration and invasion studies, this assay is more expensive and could be technically challenging for a typical laboratory. We describe here a simple inverted vertical invasion assay that is compatible with many cell types including cells sensitive to their microenvironment and/or restricted in number. This assay was adapted from the protocol proposed by Hooper et al.14. In this assay, the cells remain in their original microenvironment and their migration and invasion is monitored as they move upwards in the collagen gel containing a chemoattractant11. This assay is reproducible and has been optimized and validated in the 35-mm culture dish. It could be adapted to different assay conditions including different cell culture sizes, different matrices or strength of adhesion, and different chemoattractants. This assay could serve as an in vitro platform for initial screening in the drug discovery process.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:880px;" width="880">
	<colgroup>
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
	</colgroup>
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:228px;">MatTek P35G-1.5-10C</td>
			<td style="width:269px;">MatTek Corporation, Ashland, MA</td>
			<td style="width:151px;">P35G-1.5-10-C</td>
			<td style="width:232px;">mattek glass bottom dishes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Rat tail collagen I</td>
			<td>Corning, Corning, NY, USA</td>
			<td align="right">354236</td>
			<td>Collagen gel</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Hydrochloric acid</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO 63178 USA</td>
			<td>H1758</td>
			<td>HCl</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Phosphate buffered saline</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Whaltham, MA, USA</td>
			<td align="right">10010023</td>
			<td>PBS</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">10X Dulbecco&#39;s Modified Eagle&#39;s Medium</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO 63178 USA</td>
			<td>D2429</td>
			<td>10X DMEM</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="24">
			<td height="24" style="height:24px;">Sodium bicarbonate</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO 63178 USA</td>
			<td>S5761</td>
			<td>NaHCO3</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Confocal Fluorescent microscope</td>
			<td>Olympus America, Center Valley, PA, USA</td>
			<td>Olympus IX81</td>
			<td>Confocal&#160; microscope</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Defined Fetal Bovine Serum</td>
			<td>GE Healthcare Life Sciences HyClone Laboratories, Utah, USA</td>
			<td>SH30070.03</td>
			<td>FBS</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Ti:Sapphire multi-photon laser scanning microscope</td>
			<td>Prarie Technologies, Sioux Falls, SD, USA</td>
			<td>40x NA 0.8 objective</td>
			<td>MPLSM</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Imaris software</td>
			<td>Bitplane Inc. Zurich, CH</td>
			<td>Imaris 7.5.2</td>
			<td>Imaris software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">DAPI</td>
			<td style="width:269px;">Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO 63178, USA</td>
			<td>D9542</td>
			<td>DAPI</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Paraformaldehyde</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Whaltham, MA, USA</td>
			<td align="right">50980487</td>
			<td>PFA</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">&#945;-minimum essential medium</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO 63178, USA</td>
			<td>M0894</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">MDA-MB-231</td>
			<td>ATCC; Manassas, VA, USA</td>
			<td>HBT-22</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">MSC</td>
			<td>Trivedi and Hematti, 2007</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">20X lens UPLAPO</td>
			<td>Olympus America, Center Valley, PA, USA</td>
			<td>36-064</td>
			<td>Olympus UPLSAPO 20X Objective</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

moving upwards: a simple and flexible in vitro three-dimensional invasion assay protocol

Although 3D invasion assays have been developed, the challenge remains to study cells without affecting the integrity of their microenvironment. Traditional 3D assays such as the Boyden Chamber require that cells are displaced from the original culture location and moved to a new environment. Not only does this disrupt the cellular processes that are intrinsic to the microenvironment, but it often results in a loss of cells. These problems are especially challenging when dealing with cells that are either rare, or extremely sensitive to their microenvironment. Here, we describe the development of a 3D invasion assay that avoids both concerns. In this assay, cells are plated within a small well and an ECM matrix containing a chemoattractant is laid atop the cells. This requires no cell displacement, and allows the cells to invade upwards into the matrix. In this assay, cell invasion as well as cell morphology can be assessed within the collagen gel. Using this assay, we characterize the invasive capacity of rare and sensitive cells; the hybrid cells resulting from fusion between breast cancer cells MCF7 and mesenchymal/multipotent stem/stroma cells (MSCs).

We have used a 35-mm culture dish with a glass bottom and rat tail collagen I to develop and optimize an in vitro 3D invasion assay protocol. Using this assay, we showed that breast cancer cells MCF7 and MSC cells could invade into the collagen gel to an average distance of 0.04 &#177; 1.8 &#181;m, and 41.3 &#177; 76.0 &#181;m respectively after 48 h when IGF1 (18.6 ng/mL) was used as chemoattractant (Figure 2). More importantly, we showed that fusio...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Moving Upwards: A Simple and Flexible In Vitro Three-dimensional Invasion Assay Protocol at JoVE.com

Moving Upwards: A Simple and Flexible In Vitro Three-dimensional Invasion Assay Protocol

This protocol describes an inverted vertical invasion assay that could be used to quantify the migration and invasion capabilities of cells in a three-dimensional setting while preserving the cell microenvironment. This assay is suitable for rare and/or sensitive cells.

Moving Upwards: A Simple and Flexible In Vitro Three-dimensional Invasion Assay Protocol

Although 3D invasion assays have been developed, the challenge remains to study cells without affecting the integrity of their microenvironment. ...

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