Impact of static and dynamic magneto-mechanical stimulation with vortex microdiscs on glioblastoma cells cultured on 2D substrates with physiological stiffness

Abstract

External mechanical stresses acting on cellular compartments critically regulate cell behaviour and can induce cell death. Magnetically actuated particles present a promising strategy to apply such forces in a controlled manner, with potential applications in cancer therapy. In this study, we investigate the effects of actuating vortex magnetic microdiscs on a glioblastoma cell line cultured on soft, biomimetic substrates that mimic in vivo stiffness. Using a Halbach array, we applied either static mechanical compression or a combination of compressive and low-frequency vibrational stresses (2–20 Hz). Our results demonstrate that both compressive and vibrational stresses impair important cellular functions associated with glioblastoma persistence in a dose-dependent and stiffness-dependent manner. In particular, on soft 2D substrates, sufficiently strong compressive loads limit proliferation, while the addition of vibrations alters cell motility, cell morphology and the actomyosin machinery. Our findings demonstrate that magnetic particle-mediated mechanical stimulation can disrupt glioblastoma cell aggressiveness in physiologically relevant 2D substrates, supporting its potential as an adjunct to conventional chemo- and radiotherapies by both inducing cell death and limiting resistant populations.