Extravillous Trophoblast Migration and Invasion Assay

Extravillous trophoblast (EVT) migration and invasion through the decidualized endometrium is essential to successful placentation. SGHPL-4 cells, an EVT cell line derived from first trimester placenta, is a widely used model of cytotrophoblast differentiation into an invasive phenotype. Here we describe a quantitative cell migration assay that can be modified to also measure cell invasion. SGHPL-4 cells were seeded into BD Fluoroblok cell culture inserts constructed with an 8 μm porous membrane and allowed to migrate towards epidermal growth factor, a known chemoattractant for EVTs. To assess EVT invasion, Fluoroblok inserts were first coated with Matrigel, a basement membrane matrix. SGHPL-4 cells were labeled with calcein AM and cells that had invaded and/or migrated across the membrane were quantified by a bottom-reading fluorescence plate reader. The advantage of the Fluoroblok inserts over other migration/invasion assays is that they allow nondestructive detection of migrated cells.