Real-Time Motion Analysis Reveals Cell Directionality as an Indicator of Breast Cancer Progression (original) (raw)
Figure 4
Cell lines of the MCF10A series display distinct spatiotemporal speed and directionality patterns during collective motion.
Spatiotemporal heat plots show the average (A) speed and (B) directionality as a function of both position and time from the edge to the center for the sheet. This yielded a spatial map of average speeds and directionalities starting at the sheet edge and moving away, toward the inner regions of the sheet. We defined cos (180°) = 1 (motion directed toward open space) and cos (0°) = −1 (motion directed away from open space). Since cell movement is minimal during the first 3 h, spatiotemporal plots were generated between 3 and 12 h. Cells were stimulated with buffer (control), EGF (5 ng/ml) or LPA (1 µM). Data show heat plots calculated from representative experiments (n = 3 for all conditions except M2 with EGF where n = 2).