The Role of Mechanical Rigidity in Cell Motility and the Progression of Cancer Metastases in Bone

This study measured the effects of differing scaffold rigidities on cell motility through whole cell population and individual cell tracking. Previous studies by other groups studying tissue rigidity used 2-dimensional polymer scaffolds as well as Matrigel as a template for in vitro bone research [8, 11]; however, all studies were conducted with low moduli scaffolds, but we used both 2and 3-dimensional scaffolds at higher moduli as an indicator of cell motility. To compare overall cell migration on different surfaces, a scratch assay was used to measure the percent of the scratch remaining over a three day interval as an indicator of cell motility. We tracked individual cell motility over time using a Live Cell Imaging system, in which we monitored movement over time in cells growing on scaffolds with varying rigidities. These findings will help in understanding the effect of bone rigidity on tumor cell behavior.