Dense fibrillar collagen is a potent inducer of invadopodia via a specific signaling network.

Cell interactions with the extracellular matrix (ECM) can regulate multiple cellular activities and the matrix itself in dynamic, bidirectional processes. One such process is local proteolytic modification of the ECM. Invadopodia of tumor cells are actin-rich proteolytic protrusions that locally degrade matrix molecules and mediate invasion.

3-D extracellular matrix from sectioned human tissues.

Cell adhesion, migration, and signaling in physiologically normal and pathological processes depend highly on the extracellular matrix that the cell interacts with. A variety of in vitro models of two-dimensional and three-dimensional extracellular matrices have been developed to study multiple aspects of cellular behavior. However, there is a profound need for in vitro models of extracellular matrices to closely mimic both biochemical and physical aspects of a three-dimensional in vivo cellular environment.