Interactions between cells and their environment influence key physiologic processes such as their propensity to migrate.
However, directed migration controlled by extrinsically applied electrical signals is poorly understood.
Using a novel microfluidic platform, we found that metastatic breast cancer cells sense and respond to the net direction of weak (∼100 µV cm−1), asymmetric, non-contact induced Electric Fields (iEFs).
iEFs inhibited EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor) activation, prevented formation of actin-rich filopodia, and hindered the motility of EGF-treated breast cancer cells.
The directional effects of iEFs were nullified by inhibition of Akt phosphorylation.
Moreover, iEFs in combination with Akt inhibitor reduced EGF-promoted motility below the level of untreated controls.
These results represent a step towards isolating the coupling mechanism between cell motility and iEFs, provide valuable insights into how iEFs target multiple diverging cancer cell signaling mechanisms, and demonstrate that electrical signals are a fundamental regulator of cancer cell migration.
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