Dynamics of prostate cancer cell invasion studied in vitro by NMR microscopy

Understanding the dynamics and pathogenesis of invasion is vital for developing strategies to prevent cancer metastasis. Conventional invasion assays provide information for a single time point. NMR microscopic imaging as used in the current study to measure cell invasion in vitro provides a nondestructive method for scoring cell invasion thus offering a unique possibility to study this process dynamically. An additional advantage is that cells can be retrieved for metabolic and physiological characterization. Two prostate cancer cell lines, DU-145 and Mat-Ly-Lu, preselected for differences in invasive behavior, were studied. Cells were seeded in 12-mm culture plate inserts containing a 15-microm-thick porous membrane with 3.0 microm pore size that was coated with a 100 microm Matrigel layer. Cell invasion in the Matrigel layer was obtained from the profile of intracellular water measured with diffusion-weighted 1D imaging. Additional experiments were also performed with confocal microscopy to validate the NMR results. Significant differences were detected between the invasive behavior of DU-145 and Mat-Ly-Lu cells. The obtained results show that NMR microscopy can be used to dynamically study invasion by cancer cells. The noninvasive nature of NMR microscopy permits determination of cell migration dynamically for any given sample, which is especially important if cell availability is limited to the unique sample, such as for biopsy specimens. Magn Reson Med 42:277-282, 1999.