Abstract
ObjectiveTo examine the usefulness of room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone rubber as a barrier material for cell exclusion zone assays.MethodsWe created barriers using three types of RTV silicone rubber with differing viscosities. We then assessed the adherence of these barriers to culture dishes and their ease of removal from the dishes. We tested the effect of the newly created barriers on the extracellular matrix (ECM) protein fibronectin by attaching and then removing them from fibronectin-coated culture dishes. We also conducted cell exclusion zone assays with MIO-M1 cells using this new barrier in order to measure cell migration. We used real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemical staining to measure the effect of fibronectin on MIO-M1 cell migration and the effect of migration (with fibronectin coating) on basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) expression in MIO-M1 cells.ResultsOf the three types of RTV silicon rubber tested, KE-3495-T was the best in terms of adherence to the dish and ease of removal from the dish. When barrier attachment and removal tests were performed, this rubber type did not have an effect on the fibronectin that coated the dish. In the cell exclusion assay, removal of the barrier revealed that a cell-free area with a distinct margin had been created, which allowed us to conduct a quantitative assessment of migration. Fibronectin significantly promoted the migration of MIO-M1 cells (P = 0.02). In addition, both real time RT-PCR and immunohistological staining indicated that bFGF expression in migrating MIO-M1 cells was significantly higher than that in non-migrating cells (P = 0.03).ConclusionsRTV silicone rubber can be used to create an effective barrier in cell exclusion zone assays and allows simple and low-cost multi-parametric analysis of cell migration.
Highlights
Cell migration plays a pivotal role in both physiological and pathological processes such as embryonic development, wound healing, cancer metastasis, and angiogenesis [1,2,3]
Both real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistological staining indicated that basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) expression in migrating MIO-M1 cells was significantly higher than that in non-migrating cells (P = 0.03)
room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone rubber can be used to create an effective barrier in cell exclusion zone assays and allows simple and low-cost multi-parametric analysis of cell migration
Summary
Cell migration plays a pivotal role in both physiological and pathological processes such as embryonic development, wound healing, cancer metastasis, and angiogenesis [1,2,3]. One of the important factors determining cell motility is the extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM is composed of glycoproteins, including collagens, fibronectins, laminins, and proteoglycans. ECM proteins provide a structural basis that supports cell migration. ECM proteins function as a reservoir for growth factors and bind to the intracellular cytoskeleton by integrin adhesion receptors, thereby affecting cell adhesion, polarity, and migration [4,5,6,7]. Elucidating the effects of various ECM proteins on cell motility may aid in the development of novel therapies and drugs
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