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Cell migration

Principle

Cell migration refers to the movement of cells after receiving migration signals or feeling the gradient of certain substances. Cell migration is an alternate process of extension of the head pseudopodia, establishment of new adhesion and contraction of the tail of the cell body in time and space. Cell migration is a highly integrated multistep process that orchestrates embryonic morphogenesis; contributes to tissue repair and regeneration; and drives disease progression in cancer, mental retardation, atherosclerosis, and arthritis. The migrating cell is highly polarized with complex regulatory pathways that spatially and temporally integrate its component processes[1][2].

MCE has not independently verified the accuracy of these methods. They are for reference only.

Experimental steps

1. Seed cells at a density of 1×105 cells/well in a 24-well plate. Culture cells under 5% CO2, in a 95% humidified atmosphere at 37℃.

2. After 6 hours of transfection, draw a straight line along the midline of each well with a P-20 pipette tip and ensure that the width of the lines drawn between the well is approximately the same.

3. Discard the medium, wash twice with PBS, and add the fresh medium.

4. Take the pictures under a microscope to record the cell spacing, that is, the width of the line drawn, and record the time point as 0 h.

5. Take pictures every 12 h for 48 h using a Nikon Ti-S fluorescence microscope.

6. Measure the cell spacing of each time point by using the Image-Pro Plus software.

7. Analyze the cell migration rate by statistical analysis.

Notes

1. Before cell planking, the number of cell planking is determined by the state and growth rate of cells.

2. PBS should be added to the wall to avoid flushing cells.