Cancer research is increasingly focused on discovering strategies to induce cancer cell apoptosis without affecting surrounding normal cells. One potential biocompatible method is mechanical vibration, which has been developed as part of the emerging field of mechanomedicine. Previous studies of mechanical vibration have employed high‐frequency vibration, which damages healthy cells. In this study, we examined the effects of brief (1 h) low‐frequency (20 Hz) mechanical vibration on glucose consumption and survival (apoptosis, necrosis, HMGB1 release) of the human epidermoid carcinoma cell line A431. We found that apoptosis, but not necrosis, was significantly increased at 48 h after mechanical vibration compared with cells maintained in static culture. In keeping with this, extracellular release of HMGB1, a necrosis marker, was lower in cultures of A431 cells subjected to mechanical vibration compared with control cells. Glucose consumption was increased in the first 24 h after mechanical vibration but returned to control levels before the onset of apoptosis. Although the precise intracellular mechanisms by which low‐frequency mechanical vibration triggers apoptosis of A431 cells is unknown, these results suggest a possible role for metabolic pathways. Mechanical vibration may thus represent a novel application of mechanomedicine to cancer therapy.

中文翻译：

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低频机械振动诱导A431表皮样癌细胞凋亡


癌症研究越来越注重发现诱导癌细胞凋亡而不影响周围正常细胞的策略。一种潜在的生物相容性方法是机械振动，它是作为机械医学新兴领域的一部分而开发的。先前的机械振动研究采用了高频振动，这会损害健康细胞。在本研究中，我们研究了短暂（1 小时）低频（20 Hz）机械振动对人表皮样癌细胞系 A431 的葡萄糖消耗和存活（细胞凋亡、坏死、HMGB1 释放）的影响。我们发现，与静态培养的细胞相比，机械振动后 48 小时，细胞凋亡（而非坏死）显着增加。与此相一致的是，与对照细胞相比，经受机械振动的 A431 细胞培养物中 HMGB1（一种坏死标记物）的细胞外释放较低。机械振动后的前 24 小时内葡萄糖消耗增加，但在细胞凋亡开始前恢复到控制水平。尽管低频机械振动触发 A431 细胞凋亡的精确细胞内机制尚不清楚，但这些结果表明代谢途径可能发挥作用。因此，机械振动可能代表了机械医学在癌症治疗中的一种新应用。