Protocol for analyzing invadopodia formation and gelatin degradation

Weijian Meng; Qingwen Huang; Rui Zhang; Jie Shen; Daxing Xie; Cong Xu; Liang Liu

doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2024.103399

Protocol for analyzing invadopodia formation and gelatin degradation

STAR Protoc. 2024 Oct 18;5(4):103399. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2024.103399. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Weijian Meng¹, Qingwen Huang¹, Rui Zhang¹, Jie Shen¹, Daxing Xie¹, Cong Xu², Liang Liu³

Affiliations

¹ Molecular Medicine Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, P.R. China; Department of GI Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, P.R. China.
² Department of Gerontology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, P.R. China. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Molecular Medicine Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, P.R. China; Department of GI Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, P.R. China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39425935
DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2024.103399

Abstract

Invadopodia are actin-rich protrusions on the tumor cell membrane that degrade the extracellular matrix and play a crucial role in tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Here, we present a protocol to examine invadopodia's ability to form and degrade the extracellular matrix during tumor invasion and metastasis. We detail the procedure for using immunofluorescence staining to indirectly detect invadopodia formation and assess their extracellular matrix degradation capability via the gelatin degradation assay. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Huang et al.¹.

Keywords: Cancer; Cell Membrane; Microscopy.