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Rapid and quantitative in vitro measurement of cellular chemotaxis and invasion

An in vitro, fluorimetric method for cellular chemotaxis and invasion has been developed using a commercially available, disposable, 96-well chamber. This 4–18 hour microtiter chamber assay has a number of important advantages over existing methods. It does not require prior labeling of cells or radioactivity, and is rapid, automatable and quantitative. Cells are quantitated by a novel actin-based fluorescence tag as reported previously (Methods in Cell Science 17: 263–270, 1995). Following quantitation, cells are easily detectable by fluorescence microscopy. In addition, this assay conserves reagents due to its low volumes in the upper and lower chambers. The assay has been optimized using cultured human lung cancer cells to identify inhibitors or activators of directed cell migration. The effects of antibodies to agrVbeta3, agrVbeta5, and CD44 on the chemotaxis and invasion of A549 cultured lung tumor cells are reported.

pdf available at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/wg1v6175p40wm3x0/

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An improved method for the quantitation of cellular migration: Role of αvβ3 integrin in endothelial and smooth muscle cell migration

The present study was undertaken to develop a simple and improvedmethod for the accurate quantitation of cellular migration and to examinethe role of agrvbeta3 integrins in different cellular migration. Using our newly developed micro-volume chemotaxis assay, we developed an improved quantitative method to measure in vitro chemotaxis of smooth muscle or endothelial cells toward different extracellular matrix proteins. The convenience in setup and counting of migrated cells using this method allows for large capacity screening and for various research applications with other cells as well. The signal to noise ratios were in the range of 10/1, along with about 10–20% intra- or inter-assay variabilities. Using this method, we have determined that either vitronectin at 0.4 µg/well or osteopontin at 0.4 µg/well are selective agrvbeta3 chemoattractants for endothelial or smooth muscle cells (0.5 × 105 cells/well). Additionally, a selective agrvbeta3 small molecule peptiddomimetic, monoclonal antibody LM609, or an anti-beta3 (agrvbeta3/agrIIbeta3) anti-body, c7E3 demonstrated maximal inhibition of cellular migration toward vitronectin or osteopontin. These data suggest the potential utility of this method in assessing the role of various mechanisms in cellular migration and also suggests the potential implication of an agrvbeta3 antagonist in blocking pathological processes involving endothelial or smooth muscle cell adhesion/migration.

link to pdf at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/k60v0373k4962116/