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 alter cell motility, cell morphology and the acto-myosin machinery. Our findings demonstrate that magnetic particles-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.