Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Quantitative assays for measuring cell
adhesion and motility in biomaterials
N. D. GALLANT, University of South Florida, USA
DOI
: 10.1533/9780857093684.72
Abstract
: This chapter reviews the quantifi cation of cell adhesion
and motility with a focus on the assays that enable these analyses. A
description of these critical biological processes is provided and the
characteristic parameters are described. Each assay is then classifi ed
according to the metrics used to quantify cell adhesion or locomotion.
Finally, some recent advances and future prospects for the fi eld are
presented.
Key words
: cell adhesion, cell motility, cell migration, integrin, chemotaxis.
3.1 Introduction
Cell adhesion and motility are fundamental processes essential to the
development and maintenance of multicellular organisms (De Arcangelis
and Georges-Labouesse, 2000; Ridley
et al.,
2003). Moreover, the abnormal
attachment to and locomotion through extracellular matrices (ECMs) are
central to pathological conditions including infl ammatory defi cits as well
as cancer invasion and metastasis (Brakebusch
et al.
, 2002; Bunting
et al.
,
2002; Jin and Varner, 2004; McEver, 2001; Ridley
et al.
, 2003; Wehrle-Haller
and Imhof, 2003). In addition to the interest in these processes by exper-
imental biologists and clinicians, bioengineers have contributed to this
fi eld by investigating cell responses to biomaterials. Cell interactions with
biomaterials are mediated by cell-surface receptors that chemically and
mechanically engage adsorbed proteins or ligands engineered on surfaces
(Anderson
et al.
, 1990; Keselowsky
et al.
, 2004; Palecek
et al.
, 1997; Shen and
Horbett, 2001). Over the past several decades, numerous assays have been
developed to characterize the attachment and motility of cells on biomaterials.
This chapter describes the most common of these assays and their use to
quantify important adhesive and locomotive parameters.
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