Modulating chemotaxis of lung cancer cells by using electric fields in a microfluidic device

Abstract

We employed direct-current electric fields (dcEFs) to modulate the chemotaxis of lung cancer cells in a microfluidic cell culture device that incorporates both stable concentration gradients and dcEFs. We found that the chemotaxis induced by a 0.5 lM/mm concentration gradient of epidermal growth factor can be nearly compensated by a 360 mV/mm dcEF. When the effect of chemical stimulation was balanced by the electrical drive, the cells migrated randomly, and the path lengths were largely reduced. We also demonstrated electrically modulated chemotaxis of two types of lung cancer cells with opposite directions of electrotaxis in this device. V C 2014 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx

Microfluidic modelling of the tumor microenvironment for anti-cancer drug development

“…For example, a thread network was shown to allow cell growth with different chemical concentrations by absorbing solutions of high and low chemical concentrations [207]. Electric fields can also be used to modulate the chemical gradient in a microfluidic device and this feature may be easily incorporated into existing devices [208].…”

Studying Electrotaxis in Microfluidic Devices

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Microfluidic Organ/Body-on-a-Chip Devices at the Convergence of Biology and Microengineering

“…With a different aim, Ying and collaborators fabricated a 3D microfluidic chip generating a concentration gradient of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) to investigate its impact on Met/PI3K/AKT activation, glucose regulatory protein expression and paclitaxel-induced A549 cell apoptosis [ 235 ], as to mimic the in vivo secretion of the growth factor by cancer-associated fibroblasts. Also, in order to modulate chemotaxis and electrotaxis of lung cancer cells, Kao employed direct-current electric fields in a microfluidic cell culture device obtaining both stable electric field and concentration gradients [ 77 ]. Recently, trying to be closer to a personalized medicine approach, Ruppen and collaborators demonstrated the possibility to reproduce, at least partly, the barrier induced by the tumor microenvironment to protect the tumor from drug exposure by testing the chemosensitivity of patient lung cancer cell spheroids in a perfused microfluidic platform [ 236 ].…”