Directional Migration of Breast Cancer Cells Hindered by Induced Electric Fields May Be Due to Accompanying Alteration of Metabolic Activity

2021 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 1200

Retrospective analysis suggested induced electric fields (iEFs) increased forward migration speeds while increasing time spent migrating slowly in reverse or remaining stationary, and overall hindered migration. In the presence of EGF, iEFs were associated wi…

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2021

Study typein_vitro

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Directional Migration of Breast Cancer Cells Hindered by Induced Electric Fields May Be Due to Accompanying Alteration of Metabolic Activity Travis H. Jones, Kirti Kaul, Ayush A. Garg, Jonathan W. Song, Ramesh K. Ganju, Vish V. Subramaniam. Directional Migration of Breast Cancer Cells Hindered by Induced Electric Fields May Be Due to Accompanying Alteration of Metabolic Activity. Bioelectricity. 20 Jan 2021. doi.org Abstract Background: Induced electric fields (iEFs) control directional breast cancer cell migration. While the connection between migration and metabolism is appreciated in the context of cancer and metastasis, effects of iEFs on metabolic pathways especially as they relate to migration, remain unexplored. Materials and Methods: Quantitative cell migration data in the presence and absence of an epidermal growth factor (EGF) gradient in the microfluidic bidirectional microtrack assay was retrospectively analyzed for additional effects of iEFs on cell motility and directionality. Surrogate markers of oxidative phosphorylation (succinate dehydrogenase [SDH] activity) and glycolysis (lactate dehydrogenase activity) were assessed in MDA- MB-231 breast cancer cells and normal MCF10A mammary epithelial cells exposed to iEFs and EGF. Results: Retrospective analysis of migration results suggests that iEFs increase forward cell migration speeds while extending the time cells spend migrating slowly in the reverse direction or remaining stationary. Furthermore, in the presence of EGF, iEFs differentially altered flux through oxidative phosphorylation in MDA- MB-231 cells and glycolysis in MCF10A cells. Conclusions: iEFs interfere with MDA-MB-231 cell migration, potentially, by altering mitochondrial metabolism, observed as an inhibition of SDH activity in the presence of EGF. The energy intensive process of migration in these highly metastatic breast cancer cells may be hindered by iEFs, thus, through hampering of oxidative phosphorylation. Conclusion A retrospective analysis of the momentary speeds and velocities (forward and reverse directions) reported in Garg et al.,9 revealed that cancer cell migration is hindered by iEFs because migrating cells slow down or are immobile some of the time in the 700 μm long microchannel over the duration of the experiment. Thus, iEFs not only reduce the number of cancer cells migrated but, on average, also slow them down. We have separately shown that SDH activity is hindered in MDA-MB-231 cells and LDH activity is enhanced in MCF10A cells by iEFs in the presence of EGF. This additional data on the effects of iEF on cellular metabolism may explain the previously reported changes in migration characteristics in microtrack microchannels. This work has paved the way for better understanding of how iEFs interact with MDA-MB-231 cells and points to possible new therapeutic options for treating metastasis that involve targeting specific metabolic pathways. liebertpub.com

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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

PopulationNot supplied

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureNot supplied

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Breast cancer cell migration speed/directionality (MDA-MB-231)
Cell motility and directionality in microfluidic bidirectional microtrack assay
Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity (oxidative phosphorylation surrogate)
Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity (glycolysis surrogate)

Limitations

Retrospective analysis of previously reported migration data (not a prospective design)
Exposure parameters for the induced electric fields (e.g., field strength, waveform/frequency, duration) not provided in the abstract
No sample sizes reported in the abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "in_vitro",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "induced electric fields",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Breast cancer cell migration speed/directionality (MDA-MB-231)",
    "Cell motility and directionality in microfluidic bidirectional microtrack assay",
    "Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity (oxidative phosphorylation surrogate)",
    "Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity (glycolysis surrogate)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Retrospective analysis suggested induced electric fields (iEFs) increased forward migration speeds while increasing time spent migrating slowly in reverse or remaining stationary, and overall hindered migration. In the presence of EGF, iEFs were associated with inhibited SDH activity in MDA-MB-231 cells and enhanced LDH activity in MCF10A cells.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Retrospective analysis of previously reported migration data (not a prospective design)",
    "Exposure parameters for the induced electric fields (e.g., field strength, waveform/frequency, duration) not provided in the abstract",
    "No sample sizes reported in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "induced electric fields",
    "bioelectricity",
    "breast cancer",
    "MDA-MB-231",
    "MCF10A",
    "cell migration",
    "microfluidic assay",
    "EGF gradient",
    "oxidative phosphorylation",
    "succinate dehydrogenase",
    "glycolysis",
    "lactate dehydrogenase"
  ],
  "suggested_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: 10.1089/bioe.2020.0048
PubMed: Not supplied

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