title: Moderate intensity static magnetic fields affect mitotic spindles and increase the antitumor efficacy of 5-FU and Taxol.
abstract: Microtubules are the fundamental components in mitotic spindle, which plays essential roles in cell division. It was well known that purified microtubules could be affected by static magnetic fields (SMFs) in vitro because of the diamagnetic anisotropy of tubulin. However, whether these effects lead to cell division defects was unknown. Here we find that 1T SMFs induce abnormal mitotic spindles and increase mitotic index. Synchronization experiments show that SMFs delay cell exit from mitosis and cause mitotic arrest. These mimic the cellular effects of a microtubule-targeting drug Paclitaxel (Taxol), which is frequently used in combination with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and Cisplatin in cancer treatment. Using four different human cancer cell lines, HeLa, HCT116, CNE-2Z and MCF7, we find that SMFs increase the antitumor efficacy of 5-FU or 5-FU/Taxol, but not Cisplatin, which indicates that the SMF-induced combinational effects with chemodrugs are drug-specific. Our study not only reveals the effect of SMFs on microtubules to cause abnormal mitotic spindles and delay cells exit from mitosis, but also implies the potential applications of SMFs in combination with chemotherapy drugs 5-FU or 5-FU/Taxol, but not with Cisplatin in cancer treatment.
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.
authors.forename: Xinmiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230036, PR China.
authors.forename: Juanjuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhiyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.
authors.forename: Wenchao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230036, PR China.
authors.forename: Junfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230036, PR China.
authors.forename: Qingsong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, PR China. Electronic address: xinzhang@hmfl.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D055909:Magnetic Field Therapy / Q000379:methods; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D008938:Mitosis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D017239:Paclitaxel; D005472:Fluorouracil
keywords: 5-Fluorouracil; Cancer cells; Cisplatin; Microtubule; Mitosis; Static magnetic field