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Tumor Spheroid-Based Migration Assays for Evaluation of Therapeutic Agents

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Target Identification and Validation in Drug Discovery

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 986))

Abstract

Cell migration is a key hallmark of malignant cells that contributes to the progression of cancers from a primary, localized mass to an invasive and/or metastatic phenotype. Traditional methods for the evaluation of tumor cell migration in vitro generally employ two-dimensional (2D), homogeneous cultures that do not take into account tumor heterogeneity, three-dimensional (3D) cell-cell contacts between tumor and/or host cells or interactions with extracellular matrix proteins. Here we describe a 3D tumor spheroid-based migration assay which more accurately reflects the solid tumor microenvironment and can accommodate both extracellular matrix and host cell interactions. It is a rapid and highly reproducible 96-well plate-based technique and we demonstrate its utility for the evaluation of therapeutic agents/drugs with anti-migratory properties.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Marta Mendiola for preliminary CALR and CALS migration data. This work was funded by The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (G1000121 ID no. 94513). C.B. and M.Z. are supported by grants from the Oracle Cancer Trust. S.E. is supported by The Institute of Cancer Research and Cancer Research UK grant number C309/A8274. We acknowledge NHS funding to the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cancer Therapeutics, McElwain Laboratories, The Institute of Cancer Research, Surrey, UK

    Maria Vinci

  2. Tumour Biology and Metastasis, Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit, Division of Cancer Therapeutics, McElwain Laboratories, The Institute of Cancer Research, Surrey, UK

    Carol Box, Miriam Zimmermann & Suzanne A. Eccles

Authors
  1. Maria Vinci
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  2. Carol Box
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  3. Miriam Zimmermann
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  4. Suzanne A. Eccles
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Director, Department of Pharmacology, Boehringer Ingelheim RCV GmbH & Co KG, N/A, Vienna, N/A, Austria

    Jurgen Moll

  2. Project and Team Leader, Cell Biology, Nerviano Medical Sciences, Viale Pasteur 10, Nerviano, 20014, Milano, Italy

    Riccardo Colombo

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Vinci, M., Box, C., Zimmermann, M., Eccles, S.A. (2013). Tumor Spheroid-Based Migration Assays for Evaluation of Therapeutic Agents. In: Moll, J., Colombo, R. (eds) Target Identification and Validation in Drug Discovery. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 986. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-311-4_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-311-4_16

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-310-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-311-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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