In vivo electrical conductivity measurements during and after tumor electroporation: conductivity changes reflect the treatment outcome.
Electroporation is the phenomenon in which cell membrane permeability is increased by exposing the cell to short high-electric-field pulses. Reversible electroporation treatments are used in vivo for gene therapy and drug therapy while irreversible electroporation is used for tissue ablation. Tissue conductivity changes induced by electroporation could provide real-time feedback of the treatment outcome. Here we describe the results from a study in which fibrosarcomas (n = 39) inoculated in mice were treated according to different electroporation protocols, some of them known to cause irreversible damage. Conductivity was measured before, within the pulses, in between the pulses and for up to 30 min after treatment. Conductivity increased pulse after pulse. Depending on the applied electroporation protocol, the conductivity increase after treatment ranged from 10% to 180%. The most significant conclusion from this study is the fact that post-treatment conductivity seems to be correlated with treatment outcome in terms of reversibility.
Ivorra
Antoni
A
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. antoni.ivorra@gmail.com
Al-Sakere
Bassim
B
Rubinsky
Boris
B
Mir
Lluis M
LM
D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D017097:Electric Impedance; D053672:Electrochemotherapy; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome