Gold Nanorod Photothermal Therapy Alters Cell Junctions and Actin Network in Inhibiting Cancer Cell Collective Migration

Abstract

Most cancer-related deaths come from metastasis. It was recently discovered that nanoparticles could inhibit cancer cell migration. While most researchers focus on single-cell migration, the effect of nanoparticle treatment on collective cell migration has not been explored. Collective migration occurs commonly in many types of cancer metastasis, where a group of cancer cells move together, which requires the contractility of the cytoskeleton filaments and the connection of neighboring cells by the cell junction proteins. Here, we demonstrate gold nanorods (AuNRs) and the introduction of near-infrared light could inhibit the cancer cell collective migration by altering the actin filaments and cell junctions with significantly triggered phosphorylation changes of essential proteins, using mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomics. Further observation using super-resolution stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) showed the actin cytoskeleton filament bundles were disturbed, which is difficult to differentiate under a normal fluorescence microscope. The decreased expression level of N-Cadherin junctions and morphological changes of tight junction protein zonula occludens 2 (ZO-2) were also observed. All these results indicate possible functions of the AuNRs treatments in regulating and remodeling the actin filaments and cell junction proteins, which contribute to decreasing cancer cell collective migration.

Nanomaterials as Inhibitors of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition in Cancer Treatment

“…In the case of metallic nanoparticles, it is possible to produce local heating at the nanoparticle-containing cells without hurting the neighboring healthy tissues, when irradiated by a laser at a wavelength near their plasmon-resonant absorption band [107]. In this regard, gold nanorods (AuNRs) have been used in plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT) to block EMT, leading to a significant reduction in cancer cell collective migration [52].…”

Nucleic‐Acid Structures as Intracellular Probes for Live Cells

“…Interestingly, it has been reported that constructs based on gold nanorods exhibit nearly twofold higher signal‐to‐noise ratio than constructs based on gold nanospheres . Furthermore, because gold nanorods absorb near‐infrared light, they have been widely used in the literature for photothermal therapy, making them candidates for use in theranostic platforms …”

An On-Demand pH-Sensitive Nanocluster for Cancer Treatment by Combining Photothermal Therapy and Chemotherapy

“…Near-infrared (NIR) laser-mediated photothermal therapy has attracted interest for melanoma therapy due to its deep tissue penetration and slight absorbance [12][13][14][15][16]. Photothermal therapy also has potential use for other tumors, since additional equipment such as the optic fiber may irradiate other parts of the body [17][18][19]. Among the various photothermal agents, gold nanorods (AuNRs) have been comprehensively researched due to their excellent biocompatibility and tunable surface plasmon resonance (SPR) properties for converting NIR light into local heat [20][21][22].…”