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Description
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common malignant brain tumor with a very poor prognosis. High infiltration rates, uncontrolled cell growth, and a strong ability to develop therapy resistance are components of the aggressive nature of this type of cancer. Despite multimodal treatment, the tumor often recurs within 1-2 cm of the primary tumor.
In this study, the migration behavior of U87 glioblastoma after low and high LET irradiation is analyzed to determine whether migration is enhanced or otherwise affected by radiation exposure.
For the migration assay, cells were seeded in Ibidi Culture-Inserts 2-well to create a cell-free gap of approximately 500 µm between two cell populations. Targeted irradiation was performed with 55 MeV carbon ions and 20 MeV protons at the ion microprobe SNAKE (Superconducting Nanoprobe for Nuclear Physics Experiments) at the 14 MV tandem accelerator in Garching (GER). The closure of the gap after irradiation was observed by phase-contrast microscopy under live-cell conditions.
Differences in the migration behavior of the cells in terms of speed and direction are visible. Cells irradiated with high-LET protons tend to be faster but have lost all orientation. Low-LET proton irradiation also causes a loss of orientation but has almost no effect on the speed of the cells. When only the cell population on one side of the gap is irradiated, the cells are better oriented regardless of the type of irradiation. However, one-sided proton irradiation leads to a deceleration of the cells.
Our results show that the migration behavior changes with different irradiation conditions. In particular, the behavior changes when only a part of the cells is irradiated. These results indicate that the close presence of non-irradiated cells has a strong effect on the migration behavior of the whole population.
