Cell Invasion Assay (Basement Membrane)-Colorimetric

Product details

The ability of malignant tumor cells to invade normal surrounding tissue contributes in large part to the significant morbidity and mortality of cancers. Invasiveness requires several distinct cellular functions including adhesion, motility, detachment, and extracellular matrix proteolysis. Metastatic cells produce many proteolytic enzymes (e.g. lysosomal hydrolysates, collagenases, plasminogen activators) while the expression of certain cell surface protease receptors is also increased.

ab325580 Cell Invasion Assay (Basement Membrane)-Colorimetric kit contains polycarbonate membrane inserts (8 µm pore size) in a 24-well plate. The upper surface of the insert membrane is coated with a uniform layer of dried basement membrane matrix solution. This basement membrane layer serves as a barrier to discriminate invasive cells from non-invasive cells. Invasive cells are able to degrade the matrix proteins in the layer, and ultimately pass through the pores of the polycarbonate membrane. Finally, the cells are removed from the top of the membrane and the invaded cells are stained and quantified.