Lipid tethering of breast tumor cells enables real-time imaging of free-floating cell dynamics and drug response.

ABSTRACT: Free-floating tumor cells located in the blood of cancer patients, known as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), have become key targets for studying metastasis. However, effective strategies to study the free-floating behavior of tumor cells in vitro have been a major barrier limiting the understanding of the functional properties of CTCs. Upon extracellular-matrix (ECM) detachment, breast tumor cells form tubulin-based protrusions known as microtentacles (McTNs) that play a role in the aggregation and re-attachment of tumor cells to increase their metastatic efficiency. In this study, we have designed a strategy to spatially immobilize ECM-detached tumor cells while maintaining their free-floating character. We use polyelectrolyte multilayers deposited on microfluidic substrates to prevent tu

SUBMITTER: Chakrabarti KR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4891134 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature