Glioblastoma Cell Migration is Directed by Electrical Signals

Experimental cell research · 2021 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 1094

Electric fields directed migration of primary differentiated GBM cells and glioma stem cells, with opposing anodal vs cathodal preferences, respectively. Addition of the PPARγ agonist pioglitazone significantly inhibited directed migration in both differentia…

Study snapshot

PublicationExperimental cell research · 2021

Study typein_vitro

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Glioblastoma Cell Migration is Directed by Electrical Signals Hannah Clancy, Michal Pruski, Bing Lang, Jared Ching, Colin D McCaig. Glioblastoma Cell Migration is Directed by Electrical Signals. Exp Cell Res. 2021 Jul 14;112736. doi: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2021.112736. Abstract Electric field (EF) directed cell migration (electrotaxis) is known to occur in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and neural stem cells, with key signalling pathways frequently dysregulated in GBM. One such pathway is EGFR/PI3K/Akt, which is down-regulated by peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) agonists. We investigated the effect of electric fields on primary differentiated and glioma stem cell (GSCs) migration, finding opposing preferences for anodal and cathodal migration, respectively. We next sought to determine whether chemically disrupting Akt through PTEN upregulation with the PPARγ agonist, pioglitazone, would modulate electrotaxis of these cells. We found that directed cell migration was significantly inhibited with the addition of pioglitazone in both differentiated GBM and GSCs subtypes. Western blot analysis did not demonstrate any change in PPARγ expression with and without exposure to EF. In summary we demonstrate opposing EF responses in primary GBM differentiated cells and GSCs can be inhibited chemically by pioglitazone, implicating GBM EF modulation as a potential target in preventing tumour recurrence. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typein_vitro

Effect directionmixed

PopulationPrimary glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) differentiated cells and glioma stem cells (GSCs)

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureNot supplied

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Directed cell migration (electrotaxis)
Anodal vs cathodal migration preference
PPARγ expression (Western blot)

Limitations

No EF exposure parameters reported in the abstract (e.g., field strength, waveform, duration).
Sample size and replication details not provided in the abstract.
In vitro findings; clinical relevance not established in the abstract.

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "in_vitro",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "electric field (EF) exposure in cell migration experiments",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Primary glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) differentiated cells and glioma stem cells (GSCs)",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Directed cell migration (electrotaxis)",
    "Anodal vs cathodal migration preference",
    "PPARγ expression (Western blot)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Electric fields directed migration of primary differentiated GBM cells and glioma stem cells, with opposing anodal vs cathodal preferences, respectively. Addition of the PPARγ agonist pioglitazone significantly inhibited directed migration in both differentiated GBM and GSC subtypes. Western blot analysis showed no change in PPARγ expression with and without EF exposure.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "No EF exposure parameters reported in the abstract (e.g., field strength, waveform, duration).",
    "Sample size and replication details not provided in the abstract.",
    "In vitro findings; clinical relevance not established in the abstract."
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "glioblastoma multiforme",
    "glioma stem cells",
    "electric field",
    "electrotaxis",
    "cell migration",
    "EGFR",
    "PI3K",
    "Akt",
    "PTEN",
    "PPARγ",
    "pioglitazone",
    "Western blot"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "other",
      "weight": 0.35,
      "reason": "In vitro study of electric-field-directed cell migration in glioblastoma; not clearly tied to environmental RF/ELF exposure or policy hubs."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2021.112736
PubMed: 34273404

Read the original paper →

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