Electric Cell-Substrate Impedance Sensing of Cellular Effects under Hypoxic Conditions and Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibition

Abstract EN

Tumor hypoxia provides a dynamic environment for the cancer cells to thrive and metastasize.

Evaluation of cell growth, cell-cell, and cell surface interactions in hypoxic conditions is therefore highly needed in the establishment of treatment options.

Electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) has been traditionally used in the evaluation of cellular platforms as a real-time, label-free impedance-based method to study the activities of cells grown in tissue cultures, but its application for hypoxic environments is seldom reported.

We present real-time evaluation of hypoxia-induced bioeffects with a focus on hypoxic pH regulation of tumor environment.

To this end, multiparametric real-time bioanalytical platform using electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and human colon cancer HT-29 cells is advanced.

A time series of EIS data enables monitoring with high temporal resolution the alterations occurring within the cell layer, especially at the cell-substrate level.

We reveal the dynamic changes of cellular processes during hypoxic conditions and in response to application of acetazolamide (AZA), a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor.

Optical evaluation and pH assessment complemented the electrical analysis towards establishing a pattern of cellular changes.

The proposed bioanalytical platform indicates wide applicability towards evaluation of bioeffects of hypoxia at cellular level.