Use of a reconstituted basement membrane to study the invasiveness of tumor cells

We have used an extract of basement membranes which can be reconstituted into a biologically active gel matrix composed predominantly of collagen IV, laminin, nidogen, and heparin sulfate proteoglycan, in order to study the mechanisms involved in tumor cell invasion. When layered onto a porous filter in a Boyden chamber, the gel forms a barrier to the passage of normal cells. Malignant cells are able to cross this layer when the conditioned medium of NIH 3T3 cells is used as a chemoattractant to stimulate cell migration. A variety of human tumor cells have thus been studied in this system and we find a high correlation between their invasiveness in vitro and their malignant behavior as exhibited in vivo. We have used this in vitro invasion assay to test for factors which might inhibit tumor cell invasion. Collagenase IV is produced by malignant cells and is thought to be required for invasion. Indeed, inhibitors of this enzyme have demonstrated reduced tumor cell invasiveness. One site of five amino acids, on the B1 chain, which has been shown to promote cell adhesion, migration and binding to laminin receptor, was found to inhibit the invasion of tumor cells. In addition, factors which elevated cAMP levels were also able to suppress the invasiveness of tumor cells. These data suggest that the assay system described herein can be successfully utilized to study the invasive activity of tumor cells and those factors that may inhibit the spread of malignant cells.