In Vitro Invasion Assays: Phagocytosis of the Extracellular Matrix

Abstract

Degradation of the extracellular matrix is an essential component of phagocytosis by tumor cells and can be correlated with their invasive capacity. This unit presents flow cytometry based assays for rapid quantitative assessment of both proteolysis and internalization or internalization alone. These assays provide high-throughput, low-cost methods to compare cell lines and test the efficacy of treatments designed to stimulate or inhibit invasion.