Curved Magnetic Hydrogels for Understanding Cancer Initiation

Cancer development is increasingly associated with changes in tissue curvature, which influence dynamic cellular behaviors such as polarization and migration. However, the mechanisms by which curved tissue architectures contribute to cancer progression remain poorly understood, partly due to the lack of adequate research tools. Here, we fabricated magnetic Acrylamide hydrogel constructs to investigate the effect of curvature and dynamic movement induced by external magnetic fields of low intensity (100 mT) in the phenotype and gene expression of MDA-MB-231 metastatic breast cancer cells. We found that combining the magnetic hydrogel (MACrylamide) with an applied magnetic field significantly reduced the area occupied by the cells, from 55% to 33%, compared to conditions without magnetic field exposure. In addition, exposure to the magnetic field in combination with the magnetic scaffold had a statistically significant effect on the expression of specific genes associated with anti-inflammatory responses and tumor proliferation and metastasis (NMO1, OCT4, SOX4). These findings suggest that the cells altered their behavior after 7 days of culture on the magnetic hydrogel and 24 h of magnetic stimulation. As a control, NHDF dermal fibroblasts were cultured under the same conditions. Comparison of the two cell lines confirms the selectivity of the approach for cancer cells while ensuring minimal impact on healthy skin cells. This work underscores the importance of dynamic tissue curving during carcinogenesis using a biocompatible surface that mimics physiologically relevant curved tissues.