[A Simple Medical Research Microdevice for Analyzing Three-dimensional Migration of Tumor Cells in Vitro]

Objective To develop and verify a medical microdevice for analyzing the three-dimensional(3D)migration of tumor cells in extracellular matrix. Methods The mold of the microdevice was made by precision machining,and then the medical microdevice based on polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)-glass was obtained by PDMS casting,moulding,and bonding.During the analysis,the suspension of tumor cells and matrigel were mixed and then added into the migration channel of microdevice,and the controllable migration of tumor cells in matrigel was induced by establishing chemokine concentration gradient on both sides of the migration channel.Meanwhile,the migration process of tumor cells was recorded with the live cell dynamic imaging device. Results Breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was taken as an example to verify the feasibility of the microdevice to control and dynamically monitor the 3D migration process of tumor cells in vitro.Qualitative analysis of imaging data showed that the migration of MCF-7 cell lines in matrigel was determined by the concentration gradient distribution direction of chemokine and presented as the amoeboid-like migration mode.The proportion and migration velocity of MCF-7 cells could be quantified by the quantitative analysis of cell migration process.The inhibition ability of matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors(Batimastat)and adenosine triphosphatase inhibitors(Blebbistation)on the 3D migration behavior of MCF-7 cells was found to be different.Conclusion This device can be used for in-depth analysis of tumor cell migration and its mechanism and for evaluating the efficacy of anti-metastatic drugs.