Name: real-time quantitative measurement of tumor cell migration and invasion following synthetic mrna transfection
Uploaded: 2023-06-23T13:10:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Real-Time Quantitative Measurement of Tumor Cell Migration and Invasion Following Synthetic mRNA Transfection at JoVE.com

The authors thank the Medical Writing Center at Children&#39;s Mercy Kansas City for editing this manuscript. This work was supported by Natalie&#39;s A.R.T. Foundation (to T.P.) and by an MCA Partners Advisory Board grant from Children&#39;s Mercy Hospital (CMH) and the University of Kansas Cancer Center (KUCC) (to T.P.).

1. Synthesis of mRNA
NOTE: For the mRNA synthesis, all the reagents and equipment must be specially treated to inactivate the RNases before use. See the Table of Materials for details about all the materials, instruments, and reagents used in this protocol.
<ol>
	<li>Linearization of DNA 
	NOTE: Mouse cDNAs of CrkI and CrkL were cloned into the pFLAG-CMV-5a expression vector to add the FLAG epitope tag at the C-terminus and subcloned i...

<ol>
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J., Curran, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Crk+and+Crk-like+play+essential+overlapping+roles+downstream+of+disabled-1+in+the+Reelin+pathway.">Crk and Crk-like play essential overlapping roles downstream of disabled-1 in the Reelin pathway.</a> The Journal of Neuroscience. 28 (50), 13551-13562 (2008).</li><li>Huang, Y., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=CRK+proteins+selectively+regulate+T+cell+migration+into+inflamed+tissues.">CRK proteins selectively regulate T cell migration into inflamed tissues.</a> The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 125 (3), 1019-1032 (2015).</li><li>Wang, L., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Signaling+adaptor+protein+Crk+is+indispensable+for+malignant+feature+of+glioblastoma+cell+line+KMG4.">Signaling adaptor protein Crk is indispensable for malignant feature of glioblastoma cell line KMG4.</a> Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 362 (4), 976-981 (2007).</li><li>Kumar, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Reciprocal+regulation+of+Abl+kinase+by+Crk+Y251+and+Abi1+controls+invasive+phenotypes+in+glioblastoma.">Reciprocal regulation of Abl kinase by Crk Y251 and Abi1 controls invasive phenotypes in glioblastoma.</a> Oncotarget. 6 (35), 37792-37807 (2015).</li><li>Kumar, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Crk+tyrosine+phosphorylation+regulates+PDGF-BB-inducible+Src+activation+and+breast+tumorigenicity+and+metastasis.">Crk tyrosine phosphorylation regulates PDGF-BB-inducible Src activation and breast tumorigenicity and metastasis.</a> Molecular Cancer Research. 16 (1), 173-183 (2018).</li><li>Raudenska, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Engine+shutdown:+Migrastatic+strategies+and+prevention+of+metastases.">Engine shutdown: Migrastatic strategies and prevention of metastases.</a> Trends in Cancer. 9 (4), 293-308 (2023).</li><li>Decaestecker, C., Debeir, O., Van Ham, P., Kiss, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Can+anti-migratory+drugs+be+screened+in+vitro?+A+review+of+2D+and+3D+assays+for+the+quantitative+analysis+of+cell+migration.">Can anti-migratory drugs be screened in vitro? 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Migration and invasion are important features of tumor cells. Measuring the motility of tumor cells and understanding the underlying mechanism that controls tumor cell motility provide critical insights into therapeutic interventions2,27. Several methods have been developed to study cell migration7. The wound-healing assay using scratches or culture inserts is a simple and frequently used method that provides contrasting images of gap clos...

Tumor cell motility plays a crucial role in metastasis1,2. The spread of tumor cells to neighboring and remote healthy tissues makes cancer treatment difficult and contributes to recurrence3,4. Therefore, it is essential to understand the mechanisms of tumor cell motility and develop relevant therapeutic strategies. Since many tumor cells have altered gene expression profiles, it is crucial to understand which changes in the gene expression profile lead to altered tumor cell motility5,6.
Several assays have been developed to measure cell migration in vitro. Some assays only provide limited information due to only allowing measurements at specific time points, whereas others offer comprehensive information on tumor cell motility in real time7. Although many of these cell motility assays can provide quantitative results at a given time or the endpoint, they fail to provide sufficiently detailed information on dynamic changes in the rate of cell migration over the experimental period. In addition, it may be difficult to examine potential changes in the cell migration rate depending on experimental design, cell types, and cell numbers. Furthermore, the effects of uncomplicated treatments can be investigated by the simple quantification of traditional motility assays, but more sophisticated quantification may be required to study the complex effects of various combined treatments8.
An instrument to monitor the electrical current of a microtiter plate well bottom covered with microelectrodes has been developed9. The adhesion of cells to the surface of the well impedes the electron flow, and the impedance correlates with the quantitative and qualitative binding of the cells. The presence of the microelectrodes on the well bottom allows for the measurement of cell adhesion, spreading, and proliferation. The presence of the microelectrodes underneath a microporous membrane of the upper chamber allows for the measurement of cell migration and invasion into the lower chamber, with the upper chamber coated with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins to allow for invasion10.
Previously, it was demonstrated that impedance-based real-time measurements of tumor cell migration and invasion provide real-time data during the whole experiment, as well as instant comparisons and quantifications under various experimental conditions11. In that method paper, gene knockdown was induced to test the role of proteins of interest in tumor cell migration and invasion. Since a full-blown gene knockdown effect under the tested experimental conditions took 3-4 days after electroporation with small interfering RNAs (siRNAs)8, the cells were replated after the electroporation and reharvested 3 days later for the impedance-based real-time measurement of tumor cell migration and invasion.
CT10 regulator of kinase (Crk) and Crk-like (CrkL) are adaptor proteins that mediate protein-protein interactions downstream of various growth factor receptor kinase pathways and nonreceptor tyrosine kinase pathways12. Elevated levels of Crk and CrkL proteins contribute to poor prognosis in several human cancers, including glioblastoma13. However, it is unclear how elevated Crk and CrkL proteins lead to a poor prognosis. Therefore, it is important to define the effect of Crk and CrkL overexpression on tumor cell functions. Previously, a gene knockdown study was performed to demonstrate that endogenous levels of Crk and CrkL proteins are required for glioblastoma cell migration and invasion8. Here, a modified assay system has been developed to address the effect of Crk and CrkL overexpression on tumor cell migration and invasion.
Recently, the in vitro synthesis of mRNA and its therapeutic applications have drawn renewed attention due to the development of the mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 (reviewed by Verbeke et al.14). In addition, remarkable advances have been made in using synthetic mRNA in cancer and other diseases15,16. The electroporation of cells is an effective method to deliver synthetic mRNA and induce transient genetic modification (reviewed by Campillo-Davo et al.17), and the use of synthetic mRNA enables rapid and efficient gene expression in immortalized fibroblasts18. This method paper combines gene overexpression using synthetic mRNA with real-time cell analyses to study tumor cell migration and invasion. However, the experimental scheme used for siRNAs does not work with synthetic mRNA transfection, as the level of exogenous proteins increases rapidly and decreases gradually upon synthetic mRNA transfection18. Therefore, the method has been modified to carry out the real-time analysis of cell migration and invasion right after the transfection without additionally culturing the cells.
This method paper demonstrates that combining impedance-based real-time measurements with the transfection of tumor cells with synthetic mRNAs provides a rapid and comprehensive analysis of the effects of gene upregulation on tumor cell migration and invasion. This method paper describes detailed procedures for measuring how the migration and invasion of glioblastoma cells are affected by the overexpression of Crk and CrkL. By examining the concentration-dependent effects of synthetic mRNA on tumor cell migration, the paper clearly describes how an increase in protein levels stimulates tumor cell migration. In addition, an approach of varying the concentration of the ECM gel is presented to assess the effects of changes in gene expression on tumor cell invasion.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>AlphaImager HP</td>
			<td>ProteinSimple</td>
			<td>92-13823-00</td>
			<td>Agarose gel imaging system</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&#945;-Tubulin antibody</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>T9026</td>
			<td>Used to detect &#945;-tubulin protein (dilution 1:3,000)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CIM-plate 16</td>
			<td>Agilent Technologies, Inc</td>
			<td>5665825001</td>
			<td>Cell invasion and migration plates</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Crk antibody</td>
			<td>BD Biosciences</td>
			<td>610035</td>
			<td>Used to detect CrkI and CrkII proteins (dilution 1:1,500)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CrkL antibody</td>
			<td>Santa Cruz</td>
			<td>sc-319</td>
			<td>Used to detect CrkL protein (dilution 1:1,500)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dulbecco&#8217;s Modified Eagle&#8217;s Medium (DMEM)</td>
			<td>ATCC</td>
			<td>302002</td>
			<td>Cell culture medium</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dulbecco&#39;s phosphate-buffered saline (DPBS)</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>21-031-CV</td>
			<td>Buffer used to wash cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fetal bovine serum (FBS)</td>
			<td>Hyclone</td>
			<td>SH30910.03</td>
			<td>Culture medium supplement</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Heracell VIOS 160i CO2 incubator</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>51030285</td>
			<td>CO2 incubator</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>IRDye 800CW goat anti-mouse IgG secondary antibody</td>
			<td>Li-Cor</td>
			<td>926-32210</td>
			<td>Secondary antibody for Western blot analysis (dilution 1:10,000)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>IRDye 800CW goat anti-rabbit IgG secondary antibody</td>
			<td>Li-Cor</td>
			<td>926-32211</td>
			<td>Secondary antibody for Western blot analysis&#160; (dilution 1:10,000)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lithium chloride&#160;</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>AM9480</td>
			<td>Used for RNA precipitation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Matrigel matrix</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>354234</td>
			<td>Extracellular matrix (ECM) gel</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MEGAscript T7 transcription kit</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>AM1334</td>
			<td>Used for RNA synthesis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Millennium RNA markers</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>AM7150</td>
			<td>Used for formaldehyde agarose gel electrophoresis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mini centrifuge</td>
			<td>ISC BioExpress</td>
			<td>C1301P-ISC</td>
			<td>Used to spin down cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mouse brain QUICK-Clone cDNA</td>
			<td>TaKaRa</td>
			<td>637301</td>
			<td>Source of genes (inserts) for cloning</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NanoQuant</td>
			<td>Tecan</td>
			<td>M200PRO</td>
			<td>Nucleic acid quantification system</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Neon electroporation system&#160;</td>
			<td>ThermoFisher Scientific</td>
			<td>MPK5000</td>
			<td>Electroporation system1</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Neon transfection system 10 &#181;L kit</td>
			<td>ThermoFisher Scientific</td>
			<td>MPK1025</td>
			<td>Electroporation kit</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Neon transfection system 100 &#181;L kit</td>
			<td>ThermoFisher Scientific</td>
			<td>MPK10096</td>
			<td>Electroporation kit</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NorthernMax denaturing gel buffer</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>AM8676</td>
			<td>Used for formaldehyde agarose gel electrophoresis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NorthernMax formaldehyde load dye</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>AM8552</td>
			<td>Used for formaldehyde agarose gel electrophoresis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NorthernMax running buffer</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>AM8671</td>
			<td>Used for formaldehyde agarose gel electrophoresis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nuclease-free water</td>
			<td>Teknova</td>
			<td>W3331</td>
			<td>Used for various reactions during mRNA synthesis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Odyssey CLx Imager</td>
			<td>Li-Cor</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Imager for Western blot analysis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>pcDNA3.1/myc-His</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>V80020</td>
			<td>The vector into which inserts (mouse CrkI and CrkL cDNAs) were cloned</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>pFLAG-CMV-5a</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>E7523</td>
			<td>Source of the FLAG epitope tag</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phenol:chloroform:isoamyl alcohol&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>P2069</td>
			<td>Used for DNA extraction</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PmeI</td>
			<td>New England BioLabs</td>
			<td>R0560L</td>
			<td>Used to linearize the plasmids for mRNA synthesis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Poly(A) tailing kit</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>AM1350</td>
			<td>Used for poly(A) tail reaction</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Polystyrene tissue culture dish (100 x 20 mm style)</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>353003</td>
			<td>Used for culturing cells before transfection</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Polystyrene tissue culture dish (35 x 10 mm style)</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>353001</td>
			<td>Used for culturing transfected cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Proteinase K</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>25530049</td>
			<td>Used to remove protein in the reaction mixture</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Purifier Axiom Class II, Type C1</td>
			<td>Labconco Corporation</td>
			<td>304410001</td>
			<td>Biosafety cabinet for sterile handling of cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Resuspension Buffer R</td>
			<td>ThermoFisher Scientific</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>A buffer included in the electroporation kits, MPK1025 and MPK10096. The buffer is used to resupend cells before electroporation, and its composition is proprietary information.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>RNaseZap</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>AM9780</td>
			<td>RNA decontamination solution</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Scepter</td>
			<td>Millipore</td>
			<td>C85360</td>
			<td>Handheld automated cell counter&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ScriptCap 2&#39;-O-methyltransferase kit</td>
			<td>Cellscript</td>
			<td>C-SCMT0625</td>
			<td>Used for capping reaction</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ScriptCap m7G capping system</td>
			<td>Cellscript</td>
			<td>C-SCCE0625</td>
			<td>Used for capping reaction</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium dodecyl sulfate solution</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>15553-035</td>
			<td>Detergent used for the proteinase K reaction</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sorvall Legend XT centrifuge</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>75004532</td>
			<td>Benchtop centrifuge to spin down cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Trypsin-EDTA</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>25300-054</td>
			<td>Used for dissociation of cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>U-118MG&#160;</td>
			<td>ATCC</td>
			<td>HTB15</td>
			<td>An adherent cell line derived from a human glioblastoma patient</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Vinculin antibody</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>V9131</td>
			<td>Used to detect vinculin protein (dilution 1:100,000)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>xCELLigence RTCA DP</td>
			<td>Agilent Technologies, Inc</td>
			<td>380601050</td>
			<td>Instrument used for real-time cell analysis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1Electroporation parameters and other related information for various cell lines are available on the manufacturer&#39;s homepage (https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/cell-culture/transfection/neon-transfection-system/neon-transfection-system-cell-line-data.html?).</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

real-time quantitative measurement of tumor cell migration and invasion following synthetic mrna transfection

Tumor cells are highly motile and invasive and display altered gene expression patterns. Knowledge of how changes in gene expression regulate tumor cell migration and invasion is essential for understanding the mechanisms of tumor cell infiltration into neighboring healthy tissues and metastasis. Previously, it was demonstrated that gene knockdown followed by the impedance-based real-time measurement of tumor cell migration and invasion enables the identification of the genes required for tumor cell migration and invasion. Recently, the mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have increased interest in using synthetic mRNA for therapeutic purposes. Here, the method using synthetic mRNA was revised to study the effect of gene overexpression on tumor cell migration and invasion. This study demonstrates that elevated gene expression with synthetic mRNA transfection followed by impedance-based real-time measurement may help identify the genes that stimulate tumor cell migration and invasion. This method paper provides important details on the procedures for examining the effect of altered gene expression on tumor cell migration and invasion.

Crk and CrkL proteins play important roles in the motility of many cell types, including neurons22, T cells23, fibroblasts18,19, and a variety of tumor cells13. Since Crk and CrkL proteins have been reported to be elevated in glioblastoma24,25,26, the effects of the overexpression of CrkI, a splice v...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Real-Time Quantitative Measurement of Tumor Cell Migration and Invasion Following Synthetic mRNA Transfection at JoVE.com

Real-Time Quantitative Measurement of Tumor Cell Migration and Invasion Following Synthetic mRNA Transfection

Many upregulated genes stimulate tumor cell migration and invasion, leading to poor prognosis. Determining which genes regulate tumor cell migration and invasion is critical. This protocol presents a method for investigating the effects of the increased expression of a gene on the migration and invasion of tumor cells in real time.

Tumor cells are highly motile and invasive and display altered gene expression patterns. Knowledge of how changes in gene expression regulate tumor cell ...

Research

JoVE Journal

Cancer Research

Evaluation of the Cell Invasion and Migration Process: A Comparison of the Video Microscope-based Scratch Wound Assay and the Boyden Chamber Assay

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Real Time Detection of In Vitro Tumor Cell Apoptosis Induced by CD8+ T Cells to Study Immune Suppressive Functions of Tumor-infiltrating Myeloid Cells

Real Time Detection of In Vitro Tumor Cell Apoptosis Induced by CD8+ T Cells to Study Immune Suppressive Functions of Tumor-infiltrating Myeloid Cells

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A Simple Migration/Invasion Workflow Using an Automated Live-cell Imager

Cancer cell mobility is crucial for the initiation of metastasis. Therefore, investigation of the cell movement and invasive capacity is of great ...

Fully Human Tumor-based Matrix in Three-dimensional Spheroid Invasion Assay

Two-dimensional cell culture-based assays are commonly used in in vitro cancer research. However, they lack several basic elements that form the tumor ...

Real-Time Monitoring of Human Glioma Cell Migration on Dorsal Root Ganglion Axon-Oligodendrocyte Co-Cultures

Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive human cancers due to extensive cellular heterogeneity and the migration properties of hGCs. In order to better ...

Characterization of the Effects of Migrastatic Inhibitors on 3D Tumor Spheroid Invasion by High-resolution Confocal Microscopy

Drug discovery and development in cancer research is increasingly being based on drug screens in a 3D format. Novel inhibitors targeting the migratory and ...

Impedance-based Real-time Measurement of Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion

Cancer arises due to uncontrolled proliferation of cells initiated by genetic instability, mutations, and environmental and other stress factors. These ...

Measuring Real-time Drug Response in Organotypic Tumor Tissue Slices

Tumor tissues are composed of cancerous cells, infiltrated immune cells, endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and extracellular matrix. This complex milieu ...