A CSIC research team has shown that the Living cellsespecially the epithelial cells of human breastthey show mechanical resonancesa phenomenon previously considered implausible due to the extraordinary viscosity and complexity of cells in physiological media may be this are used to detect diseases like cancer.
The results of this groundbreaking study, conducted by researchers from the Bionanomechanics Group at the Institute of Micro- and Nanotechnology, were published in the journal PRX Life. The study builds on the work of Eugene Ackerman in the 1950s, who first proposed the idea of mechanical resonances in living cells. However, their results have been largely overlooked due to the lack of solid experimental evidence. This new research confirms Ackerman's predictions and provides substantial experimental evidence for the existence of these resonances.
Researchers have analyzed using optical techniques the fluctuations commonly referred to as fluctuations Sound of a micro trampoline made using silicon technology to which a human cell was attached. “Analysis of microtrampoline noise, which corresponds to irregular displacements on the order of 10-12 meters (one-tenth the size of an atom), revealed that the cell could vibrate in a certain way at frequencies that could vary between 20 and 200 kHz,” explains researcher Javier Tamayo, who led the study. “This phenomenon has been observed in human mammary epithelial cells.” of breast cancer“, Add.
Therefore, the researcher explains that this finding “has far-reaching implications for understanding the role that these vibrations play in human cells and how they are altered by cancer.” “The method has potential for Cell identification“but improvements in the precision of the method are needed and are currently being addressed,” he notes. “These advances could lead to new approaches to live cell vibrational spectrometry and potentially revitalize the… Idea to destroy cancer cells using waves “focused ultrasound,” predicts the researcher.
New research is beginning to reveal the effects of mechanical vibrations in the low frequency range of 1-100 Hz on cell behavior. The exact mechanisms through which these vibrations exert their effect are still being researched, but the findings so far indicate a complex interplay between mechanical forces and cell biology. “Our results open up new avenues for future research on the influence of mechanical resonances on cell survival, proliferation and migration, which are crucial aspects of cell biology and cancer,” concludes Tamayo.