Electromagnetic field as a possible inhibitor of tumor invasion by declining E-cadherin/N-cadherin switching in triple negative breast cancer

ABSTRACT

Breast cancer has been recognized as the most common cancer affecting women. Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) exposure can influence cellular activities such as cell-cell junctions and metastasis. However, more research is required to determine these fields’ underlying mechanisms of action. Since cadherin switching is an important process during EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition), in this study, cadherin switching was regarded as one of the probable mechanisms of the effect of ELF-EMFs on metastasis suppression. For five days, breast cells received a 1 Hz, 100mT ELF-EMF (2 h/day). Cell invasion and migration were assessed in vitro by the Scratch wound healing assay and Transwell culture chambers. The expression of E- and N-cadherin was assessed using real-time PCR, western blotting, and Immunocytochemistry. ELF-EMF dramatically reduced the migration and invasion of MDA-MB 231 malignant cells compared to sham exposure, according to the results of the scratch test and the Transwell invasion test. The mRNA and protein expression levels of E-cadherin showed an increase, while the N-cadherin expression was found with a decrease, in MDA-MB231 cells receiving 1 Hz EMF compared to sham exposure. E-cadherin’s mRNA and protein expression levels were enhanced in MCF10A cells receiving 1 Hz EMF compared to sham exposure. ELF-EMF can be used as a method for the multifaceted treatments of invasive breast cancer.

Plain Language Summary

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the main reasons for cancer-related mortality among the female population. Despite the huge efforts made to treat BC, metastasis has remained one of the most complicated and hardly manageable problems. Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) are low-energy non-ionizing radiation with several biological effects whose influence on living organisms has been recently explored. However, the mechanisms of action of these electromagnetic fields have not been fully understood. For five days, breast cells received a 1Hz, 100mT ELF-EMF (2h/day). Cell invasion and migration were assessed in vitro by the Scratch wound healing assay and Transwell culture chambers. The expression of E- and N-cadherin was assessed using real-time PCR, western blotting, and Immunocytochemistry. ELF-EMF dramatically reduced the migration and invasion of MDA-MB 231 malignant cells compared to sham exposure, according to the scratch test results and the Transwell invasion test. The mRNA and protein expression levels of E-cadherin showed an increase, while the N-cadherin expression was decreased, in MDA-MB231 cells receiving 1Hz EMF compared to sham exposure. The present report can be considered as a preliminary study for future investigations on ELF-EMF that recommends ELF-EMF can be used as a method for the multifaceted treatment of invasive BC which requires further studies.

KEYWORDS:

• EMT
• cadherin switching
• breast cancer
• electromagnetic fields

Acknowledgments

The corresponding author is very grateful to the Motamed Cancer Institute for offering facilities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

DN, LF, and PY supervised and designed the study; MM conducted the most of experiments. Also, MM drafted and embellished the manuscript. LF has edited and revised the manuscript with DN. All of the authors have read the final draft and agreed with it.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The project was carried out in accordance with the national regulations and guidelines for conducting medical research in Iran as well as the ethical principles.

Availability of data and materials

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This research has not received any financial support from the group or organization.