microfluidic device for characterizing the invasion of cancer cells in 3-D matrix

A microfluidic device was developed for the study of directed invasion of cancer cells in 3-D matrix with concentration gradient. This device consists of two parallel perfusion channels connected by two cell culture chambers. To mimic extracellular matrix (ECM), gelled basement membrane extract (BME...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Electrophoresis 2009-12, Vol.30 (24), p.4285-4291
Main Authors: Liu, Tingjiao, Li, Chunyu, Li, Hongjing, Zeng, Shaojiang, Qin, Jianhua, Lin, Bingcheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
3-D
Breast Neoplasms - pathology
Cancer
Cell Line, Tumor
Cellular
Chambers
Culture
Devices
Epidermal Growth Factor - administration & dosage
Humans
Inhibitors
Invasion
Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors
Matrix metalloproteinases
Microfluidic
Microfluidics
Microfluidics - instrumentation
Neoplasm Invasiveness
Protease Inhibitors - administration & dosage
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A microfluidic device was developed for the study of directed invasion of cancer cells in 3-D matrix with concentration gradient. This device consists of two parallel perfusion channels connected by two cell culture chambers. To mimic extracellular matrix (ECM), gelled basement membrane extract (BME) was used to support 3-D distribution of breast cancer cells (MCF7) in cell culture chambers. A stable linear concentration gradient of epidermal growth factor (EGF) was generated across the chambers by continuous perfusion. Using the device, we investigated MCF7 cell invasion induced by different concentrations of EGF in 3-D matrix. It was found that cancer cells responded to EGF stimulation with forming cellular protrusions and migrating towards high EGF concentration. We further investigated the anti-invasion effect of GM 6001, a matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor. We identified that matrix metalloproteinase inhibition repressed both cellular protrusion formation and cell migration in 3-D matrix. These findings suggest that EGF is able to induce MCF7 cell invasion in 3-D extracellular matrix and this effect is dependent on proteolytic activity. This device is relatively simple to construct and operate. It should be a useful platform for elucidating the mechanism of cancer invasion and screening anti-invasion drugs for cancer therapy.
ISSN:0173-0835
1522-2683
DOI:10.1002/elps.200900289