Differences between Wound Healing and Boyden Chamber (Transwell) Migration assay - (Jul/15/2010 )
Hi everybody,
I'd be very pleased if someone could tell me (or give some links where I can find the info) the difference between Transwell or Boyden Chamber assay and the Scratch Wound / Wound healing assay.
The thing is that I've done some experiments with an inhibitor and I get different results in Transwell assay and in Scratch Wound. In Transwell I see an increase in cell migration whereas in SWA I don't see any effect. Transwell assay measures the ability of cells to migrate towards a chemoatractant, is that right? What kind of migration does SWA analize?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Vera9
Vera9 on Jul 15 2010, 03:26 PM said:
I'd be very pleased if someone could tell me (or give some links where I can find the info) the difference between Transwell or Boyden Chamber assay and the Scratch Wound / Wound healing assay.
The thing is that I've done some experiments with an inhibitor and I get different results in Transwell assay and in Scratch Wound. In Transwell I see an increase in cell migration whereas in SWA I don't see any effect. Transwell assay measures the ability of cells to migrate towards a chemoatractant, is that right? What kind of migration does SWA analize?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Vera9
In both assays you can measure dividing and/or migrating cells; with scratch wound assay you measure the ability of a tissue-like situation to close a pertubation of integrity; you detect cell migration in a transwell experiment but donīt you really detect any cell migration or cell division in in a scratch wound assay?
Hi Inmost sun and thanks for your answer.
I detect migration in transwell assay, and it is increased when I treat the cells with the inhibitor. But when doing SWA, I can't see differences between the control and the inhibitor treated cells, they close the wound aproximately at the same time.
I've also seen that this inhibitor stops cell cycle at G1/S. Maybe what I'm seeing in SWA is a mixture of the effects of the increase in migration and cell cycle arrest. I mean, maybe when I only look at migration (like in transwell) I see the increase, but when looking both at migration and proliferation (like in SWA), one thing compensates the other so I see no effect... could that be possible?
Thanks in advance!
Vera9
Vera9 on Jul 19 2010, 12:32 PM said:
I detect migration in transwell assay, and it is increased when I treat the cells with the inhibitor. But when doing SWA, I can't see differences between the control and the inhibitor treated cells, they close the wound aproximately at the same time.
I've also seen that this inhibitor stops cell cycle at G1/S. Maybe what I'm seeing in SWA is a mixture of the effects of the increase in migration and cell cycle arrest. I mean, maybe when I only look at migration (like in transwell) I see the increase, but when looking both at migration and proliferation (like in SWA), one thing compensates the other so I see no effect... could that be possible?
Thanks in advance!
Vera9
so, you may perform additionally proliferation assays (MTT, SRB, etc); I would try to analyze the SWA dynamically f.i. in video microscopy; you will better discriminate between diving of cells and cell migration
Hi Again,
I've already done MTT and SRB.
I'll try what you say, monitorize the SWA. Hope i'll be able to see something.
Thanks.