Inhibition of Cancer Cell Migration and Glycolysis by Terahertz Wave Modulation via Altered Chromatin Accessibility
Lan Sun,
Yangmei Li,
Yun Yu,
Peiliang Wang,
Shengquan Zhu,
Kaijie Wu,
Yan Liu,
Ruixing Wang,
Li Min,
Chao Chang
Affiliations
Lan Sun
Innovation Laboratory of Terahertz Biophysics, National Innovation Institute of Defense Technology, Beijing 100071, China; School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Yangmei Li
Innovation Laboratory of Terahertz Biophysics, National Innovation Institute of Defense Technology, Beijing 100071, China
Yun Yu
Innovation Laboratory of Terahertz Biophysics, National Innovation Institute of Defense Technology, Beijing 100071, China
Peiliang Wang
Innovation Laboratory of Terahertz Biophysics, National Innovation Institute of Defense Technology, Beijing 100071, China; Aerospace Information Research Institute, School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Illumination and Sensing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Shengquan Zhu
Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China; Beijing Key Laboratory for Precancerous Lesion of Digestive Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Disease, Beijing 100171, China
Kaijie Wu
Innovation Laboratory of Terahertz Biophysics, National Innovation Institute of Defense Technology, Beijing 100071, China
Yan Liu
Innovation Laboratory of Terahertz Biophysics, National Innovation Institute of Defense Technology, Beijing 100071, China
Ruixing Wang
Innovation Laboratory of Terahertz Biophysics, National Innovation Institute of Defense Technology, Beijing 100071, China
Li Min
Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China; Beijing Key Laboratory for Precancerous Lesion of Digestive Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Disease, Beijing 100171, China
Chao Chang
Innovation Laboratory of Terahertz Biophysics, National Innovation Institute of Defense Technology, Beijing 100071, China; School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Metastasis and metabolic disorders contribute to most cancer deaths and are potential drug targets in cancer treatment. However, corresponding drugs inevitably induce myeloid suppression and gastrointestinal toxicity. Here, we report a nonpharmaceutical and noninvasive electromagnetic intervention technique that exhibited long-term inhibition of cancer cells. Firstly, we revealed that optical radiation at the specific wavelength of 3.6 μm (i.e., 83 THz) significantly increased binding affinity between DNA and histone via molecular dynamics simulations, providing a theoretical possibility for THz modulation- (THM-) based cancer cell intervention. Subsequent cell functional assays demonstrated that low-power 3.6 μm THz wave could successfully inhibit cancer cell migration by 50% and reduce glycolysis by 60%. Then, mRNA sequencing and assays for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (ATAC-seq) indicated that low-power THM at 3.6 μm suppressed the genes associated with glycolysis and migration by reducing the chromatin accessibility of certain gene loci. Furthermore, THM at 3.6 μm on HCT-116 cancer cells reduced the liver metastasis by 60% in a metastatic xenograft mouse model by splenic injection, successfully validated the inhibition of cancer cell migration by THM in vivo. Together, this work provides a new paradigm for electromagnetic irradiation-induced epigenetic changes and represents a theoretical basis for possible innovative therapeutic applications of THM as the future of cancer treatments.