Cell migration and invasion are central to achieving functions such as wound repair and immune response. Understanding the mechanisms by which cells migrate is important in determining the role of inflammatory cells in disease processes. Cell invasion is similar to cell migration; however, it requires a cell to migrate through an extracellular matrix (ECM) or basement membrane extract (BME) barrier by first enzymatically degrading the barrier in order to become established in a new location.
In vitro cell migration, chemotaxis, and invasion assays can provide invaluable insights into the progression of inflammation by identifying factors that regulate directional migration of leukocytes. With cell culture solutions from Corning, you can perform relatively simple, consistent in vitro assays to study the body’s wound healing and immune responses.
