Microfabricated collagen tracks facilitate single cell metastatic invasion in 3D.

ABSTRACT: While the mechanisms employed by metastatic cancer cells to migrate remain poorly understood, it has been widely accepted that metastatic cancer cells can invade the tumor stroma by degrading the extracellular matrix (ECM) with matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Although MMP inhibitors showed early promise in preventing metastasis in animal models, they have largely failed clinically. Recently, studies have shown that some cancer cells can use proteolysis to mechanically rearrange their ECM to form tube-like "microtracks" which other cells can follow without using MMPs themselves. We speculate that this mode of migration in the secondary cells may be one example of migration which can occur without endogenous protease activity in the secondary cells. Here we present a technique to study thi

SUBMITTER: Kraning-Rush CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3601578 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature