The Biophysical Properties of Basal Lamina Gels Depend on the Biochemical Composition of the Gel

The migration of cells within a three-dimensional extracellular matrix (ECM) depends sensitively on the biochemical and biophysical properties of the matrix. An example for a biological ECM is given by reconstituted basal lamina gels purified from the Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm sarcoma of mice. Here, we compare four different commercial variants of this ECM, which have all been purified according to the same protocol. Nevertheless, in those gels, we detect strong differences in the migration behavior of leukocyte cells as well as in the Brownian motion of nanoparticles. We show that these differences correlate with the mechanical properties and the microarchitecture of the gels which in turn arise from small variations in their biochemical composition.