Figure 6.

Type III collagen (Col3) impairs murine (4T1) tumor cell invasion and migration. A and C: 4T1 cells were allowed to invade through a basement membrane–like gel (Matrigel) supplemented with Col3, a 50:50 mixture of Col1/Col3 (Col1/3), or Col1, and through a porous membrane for 16 hours. Cells that had invaded through the gel and the membrane were stained with crystal violet, imaged, and read at OD 570. B and D: Migration experiments were performed as in A and C, except no Matrigel was included and instead the collagens were used to coat the membranes. Crystal violet–stained cells appear dark in images A and B, revealing less invasion and migration in response to a Col3-rich environment. ^∗P < 0.05 via one-way analysis of variance, followed by Tukey post hoc test (for comparisons between Col3, Col1/3, and Col1).