Biophysical and Biomechanical Effect of Low Intensity US Treatments on Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma 3D Cultures

Abstract

Current developments in medical technology have focused on therapeutic treatments that selectively and effectively address specific pathological areas, minimizing side effects on healthy tissues. In this regard, many procedures have been developed to provide non-invasive therapy, for example therapeutic ultrasound (US). In the medical field, in particular in cancer research, it has been observed how ultrasounds can cause cell death and inhibit cell proliferation of cancer cells, while preserving healthy ones with almost negligible side effects. Various studies have shown that low intensity pulse ultrasound (LIPUS) and low intensity continuous ultrasound (LICUS) regulate the proliferation, cell differentiation and cavitation phenomena. Nowadays, there are poorly known aspects of low intensity US treatment, in terms of biophysical and biomechanical effects on target cells. The aim of this study is to set up an innovative apparatus for US treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells, monitoring parameters such as acoustic intensity, acoustic pressure, stimulation frequency and treatment protocol. To this purpose, we have developed a custom-made set up for the US stimulation at 1.2 and 3 MHz of tridimensional (3D) cultures of PDAC cells (PANC-1, Mia Paca-2 and BxPc3 cells). Images of the 3D cultures were acquired, and the Calcein/PI assay was applied to detect US-induced cell death. Overall, the setup we have presented paves the way to an innovative protocol for tumor treatment. The system can be used either alone or in combination with small molecules or recombinant antibodies in order to propose a novel combined therapeutic approach.

Ultra-Low Electromagnetic Fields Application on In Vitro Cartilage Regeneration: A Pilot Study to Improve Treatment of Osteoarticular Diseases

“…Overall, our study places itself along an entirely new line emerging from the possibility of using electromagnetic fields coupled with ultrasound for biomedical applications, as our group has recently demonstrated [22]. It would be of great interest to observe the treatment effects of this process on human bone marrow stromal stem cells.…”

Sonoporation, a Novel Frontier for Cancer Treatment: A Review of the Literature

“…Regarding the in vitro experiments, it is possible, by means of the identification abbreviations given in the sumary tables presented in the Section 3 named Result, to derive information about each device. The coupling between the transducers and the stimulated cells in the in vivo tests is always performed by means of an aqueous or gel-like medium that allows proper coupling between the ultrasound transducer and the plate or multiwell containing the biological cultures [2]. Where in vivo tests have been conducted, the relative positioning of the transducer with respect to the mouse is associated with a number of related issues:…”

“…On the other hand, the main therapeutic areas in which ultrasound is used are lithotripsy, physiotherapeutics with musculoskeletal rehabilitation therapies, and tissue regeneration. One of the areas in which research is focusing, especially for cancer treatment, is ultrasound-induced apoptosis [2,3], which can be divided into the following:…”