Inhibitory mechanism of cell division by spatiotemporally modulated electric field and its application

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18H03520
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 90110:Biomedical engineering-related
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Kurata Kosaku 九州大学, 工学研究院, 准教授 (00368870)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 細胞分裂 / 電界分布 / 誘電泳動力 / 低侵襲がん治療 / 遺伝子マニピュレーション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To elucidate the mechanism of inhibition of cell division by the application of an alternating electric field, experiments using eggs of Xenopus laevis and numerical simulation were conducted. The direction of cell division and cell death could be easily observed as expected. The application of an electric field caused abnormal development of eggs. In the numerical analysis, we were able to predict the effect of cell size and electrical properties on the intensity of the dielectrophoretic force generated in the cell. In addition, we showed that the Taguchi method can be used to study the effects of uncertainties in electrical properties and cell division angles on the strength of the dielectrophoretic force. The optimum condition of the electric field with a high robustness to unpredictable variations in cell size and electrical properties was identified, which would be useful for improving the efficacy of cancer treatment using weak alternating electric fields.

Free Research Field

生体工学，生体熱工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

弱い交流電界の印加が細胞分裂に干渉することがアフリカツメガエル受精卵を用いた実験で示されたが，この受精卵をモデル細胞にして研究を進めるにはいくつかの課題があることが分かった．また，電場の数値シミュレーションとタグチメソッドを用いた検討から，生体の電気的特性や電界印加の方向などに変動があっても，その影響を受けにくい電界印加条件を明らかにした．これは，交流電界をがん治療に応用する際，治療効果を向上させるのに有用である．