Growth factor reduced Matrigel is generally recommended over regular Matrigel.

key considerations:

• Regular Matrigel contains high levels of growth factors like EGF, FGF, PDGF, etc. These can influence tumor growth and confound study results.
• Growth factor reduced Matrigel has much lower levels of these growth factors, making it more suitable for xenograft studies.
• Growth factors in regular Matrigel may interfere with tumor angiogenesis and mask effects of treatments given to modulate angiogenesis.
• The reduced growth factor formulation better allows the injected cells to respond to the mouse environment rather than exogenous growth factors.
• Studies have reported improved take rates and growth of xenografts using growth factor reduced Matrigel compared to regular formulations.

Hello Federica Prosperi

The composition of original Matrigel is poorly characterized. It contains extracellular matrix proteins, growth factors, collagenases, and many undefined components. The heterogeneity of Matrigel and its uncharacterized components can sometimes produce variability and background in experiments making critical interpretation of data difficult.

The use of Growth Factor-Reduced (GFR) Matrigel will be well-suited for studies that require a more defined and characterized reconstituted basement membrane than the original Matrigel. GFR Matrigel should be considered as a useful alternative for certain types of studies.

You may use either type depending on the nature of your experiment. For instance, if you wish to study the effect of novel growth factors on angiogenesis, then the original Matrigel matrix may not be a good choice because it has endogenous growth factors which may produce variability in experiments. For such type of studies, you could use the GFR Matrigel which would be much more sensitive. You could also use GFR Matrigel in studies involving signaling pathways, gene expression and regulation patterns in endothelial cells.

For establishing a xenograft in nude mice using subcutaneous injection of A498 cells, you could use the original Matrigel because it is much cheaper than the GFR Matrigel. However, if your experiment requires a more defined and characterized basement membrane in studies that I have mentioned above, then I would recommend the use of GFR Matrigel.

Best.

It depends. If you would like to make subcutaneous tumor in mice, I recommend regular Matrigel.