Migration activity of EMT-induced cancer cells.

<p>(A and B) To measure cell migration activity, A549 (left panels) and Panc-1 (right panels) cells were subjected to the <i>in vitro</i> wound healing assay in the presence or absence (Control) of TGF-ß, as described in the text. Phase-contrast micrographs of the cultures were taken after 16-h incubation. Black broken lines indicate initial wound edges. Scale bar, 50 µm. B) Cell migration area was estimated by analyzing the pixel with Image J. Each bar indicates the mean ± SD for the areas of migrated cells in 3 different fields (right panels). (C) Cells that had been pretreated without or with TGF-ß for 24 h were incubated in 1% FBS-containing medium without or with TGF-ß onto a 24-well plate for 6 h at 37°C. The cell migration was monitored with a time-lapse video system for 12 h. Cell migration distance was measured for 15 randomly selected cells. Each bar indicates the mean ± SD for cell migration velocity of 15 cells. Other experimental conditions are described in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0053209#s4" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a>.