Cell Migration Assay

Cell migration is regulated by the relevant signaling molecules and the process is complicated. It is far from failsafe and abnormal migrations may occur, which may have serious consequences, including intellectual disability, vascular disease, tumor formation and metastasis. The most common alterations are those that impair cell migration which can cause brain and heart abnormalities and defective lymphopoiesis. In homeostasis, migratory impairment delays would impair the immune response. Thus, the understanding of the mechanism is essential to develop the novel therapeutic strategies for controlling such as invasive tumor cells. In a series of recent works, some new research methods of cell motility have been established. The behavioral or shape changes of a cell bear information about the underlying mechanism are studied. The underlying biophysical, biochemical and signaling pathways which are of paramount importance have been widely studied. The analysis of live cell image sequences can be used to determine the physical features and material properties of the cells and make further inferences about the molecular structures, dynamics and processes within the cells, such as the actin network, microdomains, chemotaxis, adhesion and retrograde flow.