Recently, Zhang Xin's research group from the Center for High Magnetic Field Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has cooperated with Lu Qingyou's research group and Dalian Institute of Chemical Technology's Li Guohui's research group to make the latest progress in the mechanism of magnetic field inhibiting tumor cell growth and magnetic field combined with chemotherapy drugs to inhibit tumor cell growth.
In recent years, experimental evidence has shown that steady-state magnetic fields can inhibit the growth of some tumor cells. However, the current research in this field lacks systematic and in-depth research, resulting in unclear biological effects and mechanisms of magnetic fields on tumor cells.
Researchers compared the growth and proliferation responses of different types of cells under different intensities of steady-state magnetic fields and found that most tumor cells with high expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were inhibited. Further in vitro experimental studies showed the activity of purified EGFR protein. It can be directly suppressed by the steady-state magnetic field.
In addition, by comparing cells with different EGFR expression levels, researchers found that steady-state magnetic fields can inhibit colon and nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells with high EGFR expression, as well as Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO, non-tumor) transfected with human EGFR. But it has no obvious inhibitory effect on CHO cells themselves and CHO cells transfected with inactivated human EGFR. Therefore, EGFR is one of the important factors that inhibit tumor cell proliferation by steady-state magnetic field.
Researchers also found that the 9T magnetic field is more effective than the 1T medium-strength magnetic field in inhibiting tumor cell growth, and the steady-state magnetic field can enhance the growth inhibition of EGFR inhibitors on colon cancer cells and nasopharyngeal cancer cells.