The detrimental invasiveness of glioma cells controlled by gadolinium chelate-coated gold nanoparticles

International audienceNanoparticles based on gold and gadolinium chelates (Au@DTDTPA(Gd)), developed at the UTINAM Institute (CNRS - UMR 6213), have been studied for theranostic purposes in the management of brain tumors, such as aiding MRI imaging and amplifying the micro-dose deposits delivered in radiotherapy. These nanoparticles have also been shown to be particularly interesting in reducing the ability of glial tumor cells to invade the extracellular matrix. Despite the absence of direct cytotoxicity and effect on the proteolytic abilities of glioma cells, gold and gadolinium nanoparticles affected the abilities of glioma cells to migrate individually and collectively. In addition, morphological studies of glioma cells exposed to nanoparticles revealed changes in the architecture of the actin cytoskeleton and a decrease in the number of protrusions required for cell movement. These alterations by gold and gadolinium nanoparticles are associated with a disruption of the biomechanical capacities of glioma cells with an increase in cell stiffness and traction forces at the level of protrusions. Considering the major role of invasive capacities of cancer cells in tumor recurrence and therapeutic failures, these results provide an additional argument on the interest of using gold nanoparticles in cancerology. Supported by the Cancéropôle Est and financed by the Grand Est and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté regions, the realization of this work was possible thanks to (i) the close collaboration between 6 laboratories combining their fields of expertise and know-how in chemistry, cell and animal biology, imaging and digital sciences and (ii) the privileged access to the technological platforms of the Interregion Est