An ex vivo platform for quantitatively analyzing pairwise interactions between cancer cells

Cell migration has been extensively studied using two-dimensional substrates. However, the need for a physiologically relevant ex vivo platform to study cell migration in the context of cancer has been highlighted by evidence showing metastatic cancer cells migrate along fibers. Here, we describe the development of a micropattern-based platform to quantitatively investigate cancer cell migration. Microcontact printing was used to present adhesive ligands on a surface that serve as fiber analogs and emulate fibrillar migration ex vivo. Cells were confined to patterned areas so that pairwise interactions could be imaged in real time. This platform can be imaged and tuned to evaluate the influence of molecular and physical cues on tumor progression or the efficacy of inhibitors designed to inhibit metastasis.