In vitro invasion assay using matrigel™: a reconstituted basement membrane preparation.

Basement membranes, specialized extracellular matrices composed of collagens, laminins, and proteoglycans, form thin, continuous sheetlike structures that separate epithelial tissues from adjacent connective tissues. The crossing of basement membranes by cancer cells is a crucial aspect of metastasis-it must occur in order that cancer cells can invade lymphatic or blood vessels during dissemination and also when they penetrate into the target organ tissue where they will eventually colonize to form secondary tumors. The assay system described in this chapter utilizes the solubilized basement membrane preparation Matrigel™ and measures the ability of cells to attach to the matrix, invade into and through the matrix, and migrate towards a chemoattractant. It is technically straightforward and requires no specialist equipment and provides a useful tool for assessing the invasive ability of cancer cells, exploring the functional role of specific cell surface molecules/receptors in this process and screening for inhibitors of invasive ability, thus contributing to current knowledge of the molecular events occurring during the invasive process.