Fig. 12

MT1-MMP expression was inversely correlated to the extravasation efficiency of MCF-7 breast cancer cells in vivo. a Representative 3D volume views at 20× magnification of MCF-7 MT1-MMP cells stably expressing zsGreen 24 h-post intravenous injection into the chicken embryo CAM vasculature. Shown is an overlay displaying the zsGreen cells (green) and CAM vasculature and underlying stromal vessels labeled using lectin-rhodamine (red), and the isolated zsGreen channel. Scale bars = 100 μm. Bar graph shows quantification of extravasation efficiency of MCF-7 MT1-MMP cell lines 24 h post-injection. b Orthogonal views of Z-stacks acquired using confocal microscopy at 60× of MT1-MMP C1 and C3 cells 24 h post-injection showing the top of the CAM capillary bed (top) and the underlying stroma (bottom). Extravasated MT1-MMP C1 cells display loss of cell fragments (green arrows) and membrane blebbing (white arrow), whereas MT1-MMP C3 cells extravasate to below the CAM with uniform morphology (blue arrows) and are capable of forming invasive protrusions in the stroma (red arrow). Scale bars = 100 μm