The ability of malignant tumor cells to invade normal surrounding tissue contributes in large part to the morbidity and mortality of cancers. Cell invasion requires several distinct cellular functions including adhesion, motility, detachment, and extracellular matrix proteolysis.
Our CytoSelect™ Cell Invasion Assays utilize precoated inserts to assay the invasive properties of tumor cells. Invasive cells can be quantified in 24-well plates on either a standard microplate reader or a fluorescence plate reader. Inserts are precoated on the top of the membrane with ECM matrix gel (basement membrane), a protein mix isolated from EHS tumor cells.
CytoSelect™ Cell Invasion Assay Principle. Cell suspensions are placed on top of the gel matrix inside the upper chamber. After 24-48 hours, invasive cells move through the matrix and adhere to the bottom membrane of the insert. Non-invasive cells are then removed from the upper chamber, and invasive cells can be either stained and counted using a light microscope or quantified after extraction using a colorimetric or fluorometric plate reader.
Effects of Cytochalasin D on Invading Cells using the CytoSelect™ 24-Well Cell Invasion Assay. HT-1080 and NIH3T3 cells (negative control) were seeded at 300,000 cells/well and allowed to invade toward 10% FBS for 24 hrs in the presence or absence of 2µM Cytochalasin D. Invasive cells, on the bottom of the invasion membrane, were stained (above) and then quantified at OD 560 nm after extraction using a standard plate reader (not shown).
