Figure 12.

Blockade of NCX1 with nickel in U251 cells’ impaired migration trajectory and speed in the wound-healing assay. (a) Tracking of individual cells located in the extra-scratch (blue) and one at the edge of the wounded area (green) in the presence of nickel 200 µM. Images captured at 0, 5, 15, and 20 h after the wound scratch. Scale bar: 100 µm. Inset: a typical lamellipodia of a cell localized at the edge of the scratch; lamellipodia can be detected 5 h after the scratch, but they are less visible over time. Scale bar: 10 µm. (b) Wound closure percentage at 0, 5, 15, and 20 h after the wound scratch in the nickel condition. (c) Plotting of the trajectories of one individual cell located outside (extra, blue) and one individual cell at the edge of the scratch (edge, green). Images were analyzed with the Chemotaxis Tool ImageJ software plugin (Version 2.0). (d) Mean trajectories of the cells outside (extra, blue, n = 40 cells) and at the edge of the scratch (edge, green, n = 40 cells). (e) Scatter plot of the velocity (µm/min) of single cells outside (extra, blue, n = 40 cells) and at the edge of the scratch (edge, green, n = 40 cells). p-values: *** p < 0.001, and **** p < 0.0001.