Computerized analysis of tumor cells flowing in a parallel plate chamber to determine their adhesion stabilization...

The importance of cell adhesion in a variety of physiological phenomena requires development of an understanding of the factors and molecular mechanisms underlying these behaviors. Cell adhesion is a multistep process involving primary receptor-ligand interactions followed by secondary events that may lead to the formation of focal contacts. Due to the lack of well-defined assays to study adhesion stabilization, little is known about this process, except that it may involve signaling events, receptor recruitment, and, as we have demonstrated, covalent peptide cross-linking by cell membrane-associated transglutaminase [Menter et al.: Cell Biophys. 18:123-143, 1992). To study the stabilization process we have developed a dynamic assay employing a parallel plate flow chamber coupled with video microscopy and digital image processing. Our studies utilize wheat germ agglutinin-selected human metastatic melanoma cell variants that exhibit differences in their experimental metastatic potential and expression of transglutaminase. Using this assay, quantifying cell-substrate stabilization was found to be quick, reliable, reproducible, and useful in evaluating agents that block this process.