EMD Millipore QCM Gelatin Invadopodia Assays

EMD Millipore, the life science division of Merck KGaA, has launched QCM Gelatin Invadopodia Assays which are designed to standardise and enhance the study of cell invasion. The assays are claimed to be the only commercially available kits for studying invadopodia.

Cell invasion into the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) is accompanied by the formation of protrusions of localised protease activity, called invadopodia in cancerous cell types and podosomes in non-malignant cells. A common method for visualising invadopodia and podosome formation involves plating cells onto a fluorescently labelled matrix, such as gelatin. Localised protease activity then causes degradation of the matrix and loss of fluorescence signal.

The QCM Gelatin Invadopodia Assays provide a simplified and standardised protocol for affixing a thin layer of prelabelled fluorescein (green) or Cy3 (red) gelatin to a glass substrate, as well as reagents for co-localising the actin cytoskeleton and nuclei with degradation sites. The kits enable visualisation of degradation produced by normal and malignant cell types. This degradation can be quantified by image analysis methods and used to track proteolytic time course studies, as well as modulator effects on invadopodia.