Motility of Splenic Cells from Normal and Fibrosarcoma-Bearing Mice in Agarose Assay

Abstract

When nonadherent splenic cells from normal and tumor-bearing (mouse fibrosarcoma, MFS) Swiss mice were added to wells made in agarose layers in plastic petri dishes, subpopulations of cells from tumor-bearing mice were seen to migrate out of the wells, whereas those from normal mice did not. The proportion of migratory cells among the lower density (< 1.057 to < 1.069 g/ml) cells was larger than that of higher density (<1.069 to < 1.087 g/ml) cells. When the plastic surface underneath the agarose layer was covered with a monolayer of MFS cells, the splenic cells from normal mice also migrated out of the wells. About 20 % dead MFS cells were observed in the zone of migration when the migratory cells were from normal mice, and about 30 % when the migratory cells were from tumor bearing mice. Apart from revealing the differences between the migratory behavior of splenic cells, the present work also suggests a novel application of agarose methodology in the study of interaction of cytotoxic cells with malignant cells.