Microfluidic devices for precise measurements of cell directionality reveal a role for glutamine during cell migration

Abstract

Abstract Cancer cells that migrate from tumors into surrounding tissues are responsible for cancer dissemination through the body. Microfluidic devices have been instrumental in discovering unexpected features of cancer cell migration, including the migration in self-generated gradients and the contributions of cell–cell contact during collective migration. Here, we design microfluidic channels with five successive bifurcations to characterize the directionality of cancer cell migration with high precision. We uncover an unexpected role for glutamine in epithelial cancer cell orientation, which could be replaced by alfa-keto glutarate but not glucose.