Figure 3

Impact of the CaSR on the invasive potential of HT29 colon cancer cells. (A) HT29^EMP cells have an elongated, spindle-like morphology whereas HT29^CaSR cells attain a more compact, epithelial-like morphology of well adherent cells. (B) Expression of the epithelial marker E-Cadherin is significantly upregulated in HT29^CaSR cells compared with HT29^EMP cells. (C-D) Invasion and migration was assessed using a 3D spheroid forming assay. The area of the spheroid invading the surrounding matrix is presented as the invasive index. The number of daughter spheroids migrated from the parental spheroid was counted. Bars represent means ± SEM of three independent experiments. Statistical significance was calculated using t tests. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.