Patent Application
20230009366
Ordinarily, cerebral microvessels strictly regulate the transfer of substances between the blood and the brain tissue. This regulation by cerebral micro-vessels is called the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and is due to intercellular tight junctions (TJs) that form between brain capillary endothelial cells. In cerebral capillaries, TJs proteins are expressed 50-100 times more than in peripheral microvessels. TJs are formed by an intricate complex of transmembrane proteins (claudin and occludin) with cytoplasmic accessory proteins (ZO-1 and -2, cingulin, AF-6, and 7H6). By linking to the actin cytoskeleton, these proteins form a strong cell-cell connection. Brain endothelial cells, which form the endothelium of cerebral microvessels, are responsible for about 75-80% of the BBB's resistance to substances, and other cells such as astrocytes and pericytes provide the remainder of the resistance.
The BBB consists of tight junctions around the capillaries, and it ordinarily restricts diffusion of microscopic objects and large or hydrophilic molecules into the brain, while allowing for the diffusion of hydrophobic molecules (transcellular instead of paracellular transport).
In healthy people, the BBB serves a very important function because it prevents harmful substances (e.g., bacteria, viruses, and potentially harmful large or hydrophilic molecules) from entering the brain. There are, however, situations where the action of the BBB introduces difficulties. For example, it might be desirable to deliver large or hydrophilic drug molecules to treat a disease in the patient's brain. But when the BBB is operating normally, these drugs are blocked from entering the brain by the BBB.
Another anatomic structure that can prevent large drug molecules from interacting with the interior of cells is the plasma cell membrane, which ordinarily does not allow large molecules (e.g., molecular weight >1.2 kDa) to enter the cell.
One aspect of the invention is directed to a first method for delivering a substance to interiors of target cells located beyond a blood brain barrier of a subject's brain. The first method comprises applying a first alternating electric field at a first frequency to the subject's head for a first period of time, wherein application of the first alternating electric field at the first frequency to the subject's head for the first period of time increases permeability of the blood brain barrier. The first method also comprises applying a second alternating electric field at a second frequency to the subject's head for a second period of time, wherein the second frequency is different from the first frequency and wherein application of the second alternating electric field at the second frequency to the subject's head for the second period of time increases permeability of cell membranes of the target cells. And the first method also comprises administering the substance to the subject after the first period of time has elapsed, wherein the increased permeability of the blood brain barrier enables the substance to cross the blood brain barrier and wherein the increased permeability of the cell membranes enables the substance to cross the cell membranes.
In some instances of the first method, the second period of time begins after the first alternating electric field has been applied for at least 24 hours. In some instances of the first method, the second period of time begins after the first alternating electric field has been applied for at least 48 hours. In some instances of the first method, the step of introducing the substance begins at a given time, and the step of applying the second alternating electric field ends at least 2 hours after the given time.
In some instances of the first method, the step of introducing the substance begins at a given time, and the step of applying the second alternating electric field ends at least 2 hours after the given time. And the step of applying the second alternating electric field begins at least one hour before the given time.
In some instances of the first method, the step of introducing the substance begins at a given time, and the step of applying the second alternating electric field ends at least 2 hours after the given time. And the second period of time begins after the first alternating electric field has been applied for at least 24 hours.
In some instances of the first method, the first frequency is between 75 kHz and 125 kHz. In some instances of the first method, the first alternating electric field has a field strength of at least 1 V/cm RMS.
In some instances of the first method, the target cells are cancer cells, and the substance a cancer drug. In some instances of the first method, the target cells are bacteria, and the substance comprises an antibiotic. In some instances of the first method, the target cells are yeast cells, and the substance comprises an anti-yeast drug. In some instances of the first method, the target cells are fungus cells, and the substance comprises an anti-fungus drug. In some instances of the first method, the target cells are parasite cells, and the substance comprises an anti-parasite drug. In some instances of the first method, the target cells are brain cells. In some instances of the first method, the first period of time comprises a plurality of non-contiguous intervals of times that collectively add up to at least 24 hours.
Some instances of the first method further comprise applying a third alternating electric field at a third frequency to the subject's head for a third period of time, wherein application of the third alternating electric field at the third frequency to the subject's head for the third period of time inhibits growth of cancer cells. Some instances of the first method further comprise applying a third alternating electric field at a third frequency to the subject's head for a third period of time, wherein application of the third alternating electric field at the third frequency to the subject's head for the third period of time inhibits growth of bacteria. Some instances of the first method further comprise applying a third alternating electric field at a third frequency to the subject's head for a third period of time, wherein application of the third alternating electric field at the third frequency to the subject's head for the third period of time inhibits growth of yeast cells. Some instances of the first method further comprise applying a third alternating electric field at a third frequency to the subject's head for a third period of time, wherein application of the third alternating electric field at the third frequency to the subject's head for the third period of time inhibits growth of fungi. Some instances of the first method further comprise applying a third alternating electric field at a third frequency to the subject's head for a third period of time, wherein application of the third alternating electric field at the third frequency to the subject's head for the third period of time inhibits growth of parasites.
Another aspect of the invention is directed to a second method for treating a pathogen or parasite. The second method comprises applying a first alternating electric field at a first frequency between 50 kHz and 200 kHz to the subject's head for a first period of time, wherein application of the first alternating electric field at the first frequency to the subject's head for the first period of time increases permeability of the blood brain barrier. The second method also comprises administering a therapeutic substance for treating the pathogen or parasite to the subject after the first period of time has elapsed, wherein the increased permeability of the blood brain barrier enables the substance to cross the blood brain barrier. And the second method also comprises applying a second alternating electric field at a second frequency to the subject's head for a second period of time, wherein the second frequency is different from the first frequency and wherein application of the second alternating electric field at the second frequency to the subject's head for the second period of time inhibits growth of the pathogen or parasite.
In some instances of the second method, the first period of time is at least 24 hours. In some instances of the second method, the first period of time is at least 48 hours. In some instances of the second method, the first frequency is between 75 kHz and 125 kHz. In some instances of the second method, the first alternating electric field has a field strength of at least 1 V/cm RMS. In some instances of the second method, the first period of time comprises a plurality of non-contiguous intervals of times that collectively add up to at least 24 hours.
In some instances of the second method, the pathogen or parasite comprises bacteria, and the second frequency is between 5 MHz and 20 MHz. In some instances of the second method, the pathogen or parasite comprises yeast. In some instances of the second method, the pathogen or parasite comprises a fungus. In some instances of the second method, the pathogen or parasite comprises a parasite.
Section 1—Increasing Permeability of the BBB
This section describes methods for temporarily increasing the permeability of the BBB using alternating electric fields so that substances that are ordinarily blocked by the BBB will be able to cross the BBB.
A set of in vitro experiments was run in which immortalized murine brain capillary endothelial cells (cerebEND) were grown on coverslips and transwell inserts to create an artificial in vitro version of the BBB, and
A first set of experiments involved visualization of cell morphology and orientation, and visualization of the localization of stained proteins. This experiment was designed to ascertain how the frequency of the alternating electric field impacted the artificial BBB. Here, the cells were grown on coverslips, and alternating electric fields were applied for 72 hours at four different frequencies (100 kHz, 150 kHz, 200 kHz, and 300 kHz), with a field strength of 1.7 V/cm. The direction of the alternating electric fields was switched every 1 second between two perpendicular directions. There was also a control in which alternating electric fields were not applied. Cell morphology images depicting the presence of Claudin 5, ZO-1, and 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) in (each of which was stained a different color) were then obtained. Claudin 5 and ZO-1 indicate the presence of an intact BBB. This set of cell morphology images revealed that alternating electric fields disturb the artificial BBB by delocalization of tight junction proteins from the cell boundaries to the cytoplasm, with the most dramatic effects at 100 kHz.
A second set of experiments also involved visualization of cell morphology. This experiment was designed to ascertain how the duration of time during which the alternating electric field was applied impacted the artificial BBB. Endothelial cells were grown on coverslips, and an alternating electric field at a frequency of 100 kHz was applied for three different durations (24 h, 48 h, 72 h) plus a control. The direction of the alternating electric fields was switched every 1 second between two perpendicular directions. Cell morphology images depicting the presence of Claudin 5 and DAPI (each of which was stained a different color) were then obtained. This set of cell morphology images revealed that the phenomena discussed above in connection with the first set of experiments were already visible after 24 hours, and that the effects were most pronounced after 72 hours.
A third set of experiments also involved visualization of cell morphology. This experiment was similar to the second set of experiments, except that the endothelial cells were grown on transwell inserts instead of coverslips. The results were similar to the results of the second set of experiments. The delocalization of TJ proteins was visible after 24 hours and the effects were most pronounced after 72 hours. The three experiments described above support the conclusion that alternating electric fields cause structural changes in the cells, which might be responsible for an increase in BBB permeability.
Collectively, these in vitro experiments reveal that applying alternating electric fields at certain frequencies for a sufficient duration of time causes the delocalization of tight junction proteins (Claudin 5, ZO-1) from the cell boundaries to the cytoplasm (with the most dramatic effects at 100 kHz), and increases the permeability of the BBB. The alternating electric fields' effects appear already after 24 h and are most prominent after 72 h. More specifically, after using the alternating electric fields to increase the permeability of the BBB, molecules of 4 kDa can pass through the BBB.
Additional in vitro experiments were then conducted to determine what happens to the BBB after the alternating electric fields were turned off. These experiments used visualization of cell morphology to show how the artificial BBB recovers after discontinuing the alternating electric fields. In these experiments, endothelial cells were grown on coverslips and treated with 100 kHz alternating electric fields at a field strength of 1.7 V/cm for 72 hours. The direction of the alternating electric fields was switched every 1 second between two perpendicular directions. The alternating electric fields were then turned off, and the cells were followed for 96 hours after stopping the alternating electric field. Cell morphology images depicting the presence of Claudin 5 (stained) were obtained at 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, and 96 hours. Those images revealed a progressive change in localization of Claudin between the cell boundaries and the cytoplasm on the 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h images. Furthermore, a comparison of those four images to the respective images for the control (in which alternating electric fields were not applied during either the first 72 h or the last 96 h) revealed that the endothelial cell morphology was partially recovered 48 hours after stopping the alternating electric fields, and that the BBB was fully recovered (i.e., was comparable to the control) 96 hours after stopping the alternating electric fields.
Another in vitro experiment used a TUNEL assay for apoptosis to determine whether the observed changes in the permeability of the artificial BBB described above might be attributable to cell death. In this experiment, endothelial cells were grown on coverslips and treated with 100 kHz alternating electric fields at a field strength of 1.7 V/cm for 72 hours. The direction of the alternating electric fields was switched every 1 second between two perpendicular directions. In the control, alternating electric fields were not applied. Cell morphology images depicting apoptosis (TUNEL) and Nuclei (DAPI) (each of which was stained a different color) were obtained after 24, 48, and 72 hours. None of those images revealed additional evidence of apoptosis, indicating that alternating electric fields did not cause cell death. This confirms that the changes in the BBB permeability noted above were not attributable to cell death.
A set of in vivo experiments on rats was also run to quantify the increase in vessel permeability caused by exposure to the alternating electric fields. These experiments used Evans Blue (EB) dye, which is an azo dye that has a very high affinity for serum albumin (molecule size ˜69 kDa). Because of its large molecule size, serum albumin will ordinarily not be able to get past the BBB. But if the permeability of the BBB has been sufficiently increased, some of the serum albumin molecules (together with the EB dye that has been bound thereto) will make it across the BBB and can then be detected by looking for the EB in the rat's brain.
In this set of experiments, 100 kHz alternating electric fields were applied to the rat's brain for 72 hours, and the direction of the alternating electric fields was switched every 1 second between two perpendicular directions. This was accomplished by shaving each rat's head, positioning a first pair of capacitively coupled electrodes on the top and bottom of the rat's head, and positioning a second pair of capacitively coupled electrodes on the left and right sides of the rat's head. A 100 kHz AC voltage was then applied between the top and bottom electrodes for 1 second, followed by a 100 kHz AC voltage applied between the right and left electrodes for 1 second, in a repeating sequence.
Under the conditions indicated in Table 1 and for the times indicated on Table 1, EB was injected intravenously into the tail vein under anesthesia (Once injected, EB immediately binds to Albumin), and the EB was allowed to circulate for 2 hours in all cases. The following steps were then performed: (a) intracardiac perfusion with saline; (b) brains are sliced in four pieces with a brain slicer; (c) pieces were photographed to localize staining and weighted; (d) EB extraction after tissue homogenization with TCA 50% (1:3) and centrifuge and (e) EB quantification at 610 nm. Results are given as μg EB per g tissue.
During the experiment, two animals from group 2 and one animal from group 4 were excluded (disrupted treatment, failure to inject EB into the tail vein). There were no differences between the animals treated with alternating electric fields (groups 1 and 2) and therefore these animals were grouped together. Similarly, there were no differences between sham heat and control animals (groups 3 and 4) and therefore these animals were grouped together.
The rats' brains were sliced into four pieces using a brain slicer at the positions shown in
The results for EB accumulation in sections 1 through 4 are depicted in
The in vivo experiments described above establish that: (1) alternating electric fields application permits the BBB passage of molecules of average molecular size of ˜69 kDa to the brain tissue; (2) the increase in permeability of the BBB is maintained 2 hours after terminating the alternating electric fields application; and (3) the increased permeability of the BBB varies between different sections of the brain. The latter may be the result of the different field strengths that were imposed in the various sections of the brain. These experiments further support our conclusion that alternating electric fields increase the permeability of the BBB to molecules that ordinarily cannot traverse a non-leaky BBB.
In another set of in vivo experiments, 5 rats were treated with alternating electric fields at 100 kHz for 72 h, and 4 control rats were not treated with alternating electric fields for the same period of time. At the end of the 72 hour period, the fluorescent compound TRITC-Dextran of 4 kDa was injected intravenously into the tail vein under anesthesia, and allowed to circulate for 2 minutes in all cases. The brains were then removed, frozen, sectioned and scanned with a fluorescent scanner. All slides were scanned with the same conditions. The resulting images revealed significantly higher levels of accumulation of the fluorescent 4 kDA TRITC-Dextran in the brain tissue of the rats that were subjected to alternating electric fields (as compared to the control), confirming yet again that alternating electric fields increase the permeability of the BBB.
Yet another set of in vivo experiments was performed using Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) with intravenous injection of Gadolinium contrast agent (Gd-DTPA, Magnetol, MW 547). In these experiments, test rats were treated with 100 kHz alternating electric fields for 72 h, and control rats were not treated with alternating electric fields for the same period of time. After this 72 h period, the alternating electric field was turned off, the rats were anesthetized, and a series of 60 Tlw MRI scans (each of the scans having a duration of 28 seconds) was acquired. The gadolinium contrast agent was injected into the rat's tail vein during the 7th of these 60 scans.
The image analysis for each rat included (1) determining a baseline for each voxel by calculating the mean of the first six Tlw MRI scans for each voxel (i.e., the scans prior to the injection of the gadolinium); (2) computing voxel by voxel, the percent signal change (i.e., gadolinium accumulation) over time relative to the baseline; (3) segmenting the brain into anterior, middle, and posterior segments; (4) generating for each of the three segments the mean percent signal change with respect to the baseline over all the voxels in the respective segment and then (5) averaging 4 consecutive time points (i.e. 4 scans) together. Finally, the data from all of the rats within any given group were averaged together.
The results of this DCE-MRI experiment for each of the three segments of the brain (i.e., anterior, middle, and posterior) are depicted in
To test whether this increase in permeability of the BBB was temporary, the same test conditions were repeated, but followed with an additional 96 hours without alternating electric fields. After this 96 hour period, a series of 60 Tlw MM scans (each of the scans having a duration of 28 seconds) was acquired using the same procedure described above (including the gadolinium injection). The results of this portion of the DCE-MM experiment for each of the three segments of the brain are also depicted in
An additional series of 60 Tlw MRI scans (each of the scans having a duration of 28 seconds) was also acquired using the same procedure before the alternating electric field was applied to the rats (n=2). The results of this portion of the DCE-MRI experiment for each of the three segments of the brain (i.e., anterior, middle, and posterior) are also depicted in
We note that the upper size limit of molecules that can pass through the BBB after applying the alternating electric fields has not yet been determined. But based on (a) the in vitro experiments described herein using FITC-dextrans with a 4 kDa molecular weight and (b) the in vivo experiments described herein using EB (which binds to serum albumin having a molecule size of ˜69 kDa), the upper limit appears to be at least about 69 kDa, and is most certainly at least 4 kDa.
The implications of being able to reversibly increase the permeability of the BBB at will are far-reaching, because it now becomes possible to deliver many substances across the BBB of a subject, despite the fact that those substances have at least one characteristic that ordinarily impedes the substance from crossing a non-leaky BBB. Many of these implications involve delivering a substance including but not limited to treating agents and diagnostic agents across a blood brain barrier of a subject's brain.
Examples include but are not limited to the following: delivering chemotherapeutic agents across the BBB to treat cancer (in this context, it may be possible to lower the dosage of drugs for the treatment of brain tumors and metastases with severe side effects in other parts of the body based on the increased permeability of the drugs to the brain); delivering antibodies and/or cell-based therapies across the BBB for immunotherapy; delivering contrast agents dyes, reporters, and markers across the BBB for diagnostic purposes and for research (e.g. monitoring brain activity); delivering antibacterial agents across the BBB to treat infectious diseases; delivering anti-viral agents or virus neutralizing antibodies across the BBB to treat viral infections; delivering anti-parasitic agents across the BBB to treat parasites; delivering agents to treat neurodegenerative and autoimmune disease across the BBB; delivering psychiatric drugs; delivering anti-epileptic drugs; delivering hydrocephalus drugs; delivering stroke intervention and recovery drugs; delivering compounds that are lacking in the brain across the BBB to treat conditions in which those compounds are lacking (e.g., for treating Parkinson's disease, etc.).
While the testing described above was done in vitro and in live rats, it is expected that similar results will be obtained with other animals and with humans.
The methods described herein can also be applied in the in vivo context by applying the alternating electric fields to a live subject's brain. Imposing the electric field in the subject's brain will increase the permeability of the BBB, which will enable molecules that are ordinarily blocked or impeded by the BBB to get through. This may be accomplished, for example, by positioning electrodes on or below the subject's skin so that application of an AC voltage between selected subsets of those electrodes will impose the alternating electric fields in the subject's brain.
For example, one pair of electrodes could be positioned on the front and back of the subject's head, and a second pair of electrodes could be positioned on the right and left sides of the subject's head. In some embodiments, the electrodes are capacitively coupled to the subject's body (e.g., by using electrodes that include a conductive plate and also have a dielectric layer disposed between the conductive plate and the subject's body). But in alternative embodiments, the dielectric layer may be omitted, in which case the conductive plates would make direct contact with the subject's body. In another embodiment, electrodes could be inserted subcutaneously below a patent's skin.
An AC voltage generator applies an AC voltage at a selected frequency (e.g., 100 kHz, or between 50 and 190 kHz) between the right and left electrodes for a first period of time (e.g., 1 second), which induces alternating electric fields where the most significant components of the field lines are parallel to the transverse axis of the subject's head. Then, the AC voltage generator applies an AC voltage at the same frequency (or a different frequency) between the front and back electrodes for a second period of time (e.g., 1 second), which induces alternating electric fields where the most significant components of the field lines are parallel to the sagittal axis of the subject's head. This two step sequence is then repeated for the duration of the treatment. Optionally, thermal sensors may be included at the electrodes, and the AC voltage generator can be configured to decrease the amplitude of the AC voltages that are applied to the electrodes if the sensed temperature at the electrodes gets too high. In some embodiments, one or more additional pairs of electrodes may be added and included in the sequence. In alternative embodiments, only a single pair of electrodes is used, in which case the direction of the field lines is not switched. Note that any of the parameters for this in vivo embodiment (e.g., frequency, field strength, duration, direction-switching rate, and the placement of the electrodes) may be varied as described above in connection with the in the vitro embodiments. But care must be taken in the in vivo context to ensure that the electric field remains safe for the subject at all times.
A wide variety of applications for increasing the permeability of the BBB can be readily envisioned in the in vivo context. In one example, localized enhancement of drug uptake by tumor cells (e.g., glioblastoma cells) in the brain can be induced by applying alternating electric fields to the brain for a period of time (e.g., 72 hours or at least 24 hours) prior to and during administration of chemotherapies or other antineoplastic agents.
Note that the intervals of time discussed above in connection with
In some preferred embodiments, the frequency of the alternating electric fields is less than 190 kHz (e.g., between 50 and 190 kHz or between 25 and 190 kHz). Based on the experiments discussed above, using a frequency of less than 190 kHz combined with a period of time of at least 24 hours will increase the change in permeability (as compared to operating outside of those ranges).
Another set of in vivo experiments was performed to determine whether paclitaxel (PTX, which is a drug that ordinarily cannot traverse the BBB) can make it across the BBB when the subject is treated with alternating electric fields. In one of these experiments, glioblastoma was induced in rats by injecting them orthotopically with GBM F98 cells on day 0 of the experiment. On day 6, a first set of MRI scans of each rat's brains was obtained. Alternating electric fields at 100 kHz were applied to all the rats on days 7 through 10. On day 10 (i.e., after applying the fields for 72 hours), some of the rats were injected i.p. with 25 mg/kg PTX, while other rats were not injected. Subsequently, on day 13 (i.e., 3 days post PTX administration), a second set of MRI scans of each rat's brain was obtained. Ki67 (red) and DAPI (blue) staining was evaluated for the test and control rats. Quantification of the observed Ki67/DAPI ratio revealed a significant decrease in cell proliferation in the GBM tumor with the combined alternating electric field+PTX treatment as compared to the control (alternating electric fields only), as depicted in
A similar experiment using a 15 mg/kg dose of PTX was performed, except that instead of quantifying the Ki67/DAPI ratio on day 13, Mill scans and post mortem tissue sections were used to determine the fold increase of the tumor volume on day 15. The tumor volumes from these experiments are depicted in
Experiments were also performed to determine the relationship between the intensity of the alternating electric fields and the impact of those fields on BBB integrity and permeability. In an in vitro experiment, the effects at 100 kHz alternating electric fields on cell integrity and permeability were evaluated by TEER measurement and by an FITC-dextran permeability assay. This experiment was repeated three times, and statistical significance was evaluated using unpaired two-tailed Student's t-test. In this experiment, an artificial BBB made using murine cerebEND cells was treated with 100 kHz alternating electric fields for 24-72 h at field intensities of 1.62, 0.97 and 0.76 V/cm RMS, respectively. The cells were stained with Claudin-5 antibody immunofluorescent staining, conjugated to Alexa Fluor 488 (green); and nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue).
A visual inspection of the resulting images revealed the following results. For the 0.97 V/cm case, the images revealed some morphological deformation regardless of the time duration during which alternating electric fields were applied (24-72 h). Cells lost their fusiform appearance and were transformed to larger cells with frayed boundaries. The corresponding effects for the 1.62 V/cm case were more dramatic than for the 0.97 V/cm case. On the other hand, the cells that were treated using 0.76 V/cm fields appeared more similar to the control, with long, narrow cells that taper to the ends, independent of the time duration of alternating electric fields administration. Although the presence of frayed outlines in the membranes was notable in the 0.76 V/cm case and the existence of larger cells was also apparent, these effects were scant compared to the 0.97 V/cm case. These findings indicate that the cells' response to alternating electric fields depends on the intensity of the fields.
The relationship between the intensity of the alternating electric fields and the impact of those fields on BBB integrity and permeability was also apparent from in vivo experiments in rats using serial dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MM to measure gadolinium (Gd) uptake after 100 kHz alternating electric fields were applied for 72 hours. The rat's brains were segmented into three regions (anterior, posterior, and middle), and simulations of the alternating electric fields delivery to those three regions yielded field strengths of 1.5±0.6 V/cm RMS, 2.1±1.2 V/cm RMS, and 2.7±1.7 V/cm RMS respectively. The serial DCE Mill results demonstrated significantly increased signal enhancement in the middle and posterior brains about 10 minutes after Gd injection (as compared to the control rats), implying increased Gd accumulation. On the other hand, no significant Gd accumulation was observed in the anterior part of the brain, which is in accordance with the lower intensities in this region. These findings also indicate that the cells' response to alternating electric fields depends on the intensity of the fields.
Other findings for this experiment were as follows: No significant Gd accumulation was observed in the control rats (which were not treated using alternating electric fields). In addition, if the Gd injection was delayed until 96 h after the alternating electric fields were turned off, there was no significant accumulation of Gd. The latter finding leads us to conclude that the BBB in those rats had recovered to its original state. Analysis of the spatial distribution of Gd accumulation 20 to 23 minutes post-contrast administration showed that the Gd enhancement is distributed in the whole brain in the test rats, whereas minimal enhancement was observed in the control brains and the brains of the rats in which the Gd injection was delayed until 96 h after the alternating electric fields were turned.
Another set of experiments was performed to determine whether a BBB that has previously been opened by applying alternating electric fields and subsequently closed (by discontinuing the alternating electric fields for enough time to allow the BBB to recover) can subsequently be re-opened by applying alternating electric fields to the BBB a second time. This experiment tested an artificial BBB made using murine cerebEND cells that were stained with Claudin-5 antibody immunofluorescent staining, with the nuclei stained with DAPI. The BBB was treated with 100 kHz alternating electric fields with a field strength of 1.62 V/cm for 72 h, with the direction of the fields switching every 1 second between two perpendicular directions. This initial 72 hour interval was followed by a 96 hour recovery period during which alternating electric fields were not applied. Subsequently, 100 kHz alternating electric fields with a field strength of 1.62 V/cm were applied for a second interval of 96 hours. Alternating electric fields were not applied to the control.
As explained above, Claudin 5 indicates the presence of an intact BBB. Visual inspection of the images obtained after the initial 72 hour period revealed that the alternating electric fields disturbed the artificial BBB by delocalization of tight junction proteins from the cell boundaries to the cytoplasm, which indicates that the artificial BBB was no longer intact. Visual inspection of the images obtained after the 96 hour recovery period revealed that the artificial BBB had returned to its original intact state, and was similar in appearance to the control. And notably, visual inspection of the images obtained both 72 hours into the second interval and at the end of the second interval revealed that the alternating electric fields again disturbed the artificial BBB by delocalization of tight junction proteins from the cell boundaries to the cytoplasm, which indicates that the artificial BBB was, once again, no longer intact. These findings indicate that a BBB that has previously been opened and subsequently closed can indeed be subsequently reopened by applying alternating electric fields to the BBB. This may be particularly advantageous for repetitive administration of drugs for CNS disease therapy.
In view of this, the following method for delivering a substance across a blood brain barrier of a subject's brain, which is illustrated in
Next, in step S20, a first substance is administered (e.g., intravenously or orally) to the subject after the first period of time has elapsed. The increased permeability of the blood brain barrier allows the first substance to cross the blood brain barrier. Next, in step S30, the application of the alternating electric field is discontinued for enough time to allow the blood brain barrier to recover.
In step S50, after the blood brain barrier has recovered, an alternating electric field (e.g., a frequency between 75 kHz and 125 kHz) is applied to the subject's brain for a second period of time. Preferably, the alternating electric field has a field strength of at least 1 V/cm in at least a portion of the subject's brain. Application of the alternating electric field to the subject's brain for the second period of time increases permeability of the blood brain barrier in the subject's brain. In some instances, the second period of time is at least 24 hours, and in some instances, the second period of time is at least 48 hours.
Next, in step S60, a second substance (which may optionally be identical to the first substance) is administered (e.g., intravenously or orally) to the subject after the second period of time has elapsed. The increased permeability of the blood brain barrier allows the second substance to cross the blood brain barrier. Optionally, at least one of the first substance and the second substance is paclitaxel.
In some instances of the method depicted in
The methods described herein may be used to deliver a substance across the blood brain barrier of a subject's brain when the subject's brain includes a tumor. One existing approach to treating brain tumors (e.g., glioblastoma) is by applying alternating electric fields at frequencies between 50 and 500 kHz, preferably between 100 and 300 kHz to the tumor. For glioblastoma, 200 kHz is the most preferred frequency. Alternating electric fields at these frequencies are referred to as TTFields, and are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,868,289 and 7,565,205, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Briefly, those two applications describe disrupting dividing cells during mitosis. The effectiveness of TTFields is improved when the direction of the electric field is periodically switched, when the strength of the field in at least a portion of the tumor is at least 1 V/cm, and when the fields are applied for long periods of time (e.g., weeks or months) with as few breaks as possible.
In patients with brain tumors, situations may arise where it will be desirable to treat the tumor with TTFields and also deliver a substance across the same patient's blood brain barrier (e.g., to help get a therapeutically effective amount of a chemotherapy drug past the BBB to provide an additional line of attack against the tumor). In some situations, it may be possible to use a single frequency of an alternating electric field to both treat the tumor and increase the permeability of the BBB. In other situations, it may be desirable to use alternating electric fields with different frequencies: a first frequency that is selected to provide improved results for increasing the permeability of the BBB, and a second frequency that is selected to provide improved results for the anti-tumor action of the TTFields. In the latter situation, the second frequency will typically be higher than the first frequency.
The ability to operate at two different frequencies may be implemented, for example, using relays to switch either a first set of components or a second set of components into the conventional circuit that generates the AC voltage, and adjusting the operating frequency of an oscillator. The AC voltage generator 44 is configured to output either the first frequency or the second frequency depending on the state of a control input. When the control input is in a first state the AC voltage generator 44 outputs the first frequency, and when the control input is in a second state the AC voltage generator 44 outputs the second frequency. A controller 42 is programmed to place the control input in the second state so that the AC voltage generator 44 outputs the second frequency. The controller 42 is also programmed to accept a request to switch to the first frequency. In the embodiment depicted in
Upon receipt of the request, the controller 42 will place the control input in the first state so that the AC voltage generator 44 will output the first frequency for an interval of time (e.g., 72 hours). After the interval of time has elapsed, the controller 42 will place the control input in the second state so that the AC voltage generator 44 reverts to outputting the second frequency.
Optionally, the AC voltage generator 44 may be configured to output one or more additional frequencies (e.g., a third frequency, a fourth frequency, etc.), depending on the state of the control input. Preferably each of these additional frequencies is selected to induce cytotoxicity. In these embodiments, the controller 42 is programmed to cycle the control input through the states that cause the AC voltage generator 44 to output the second frequency and the one or more additional frequencies before the request arrives. The controller 42 is also programmed to accept a request to switch to the first frequency. Upon receipt of the request, the controller 42 will place the control input in the first state so that the AC voltage generator 44 will output the first frequency for an interval of time (e.g., 72 hours). After the interval of time has elapsed, the controller 42 will revert to cycling the control input through the states that cause the AC voltage generator 44 to output the second frequency and the one or more additional frequencies.
The system depicted in
Alternatively, upon receipt of the request (e.g., from the user interface 40), the controller 42 can control the control input so that the AC voltage generator 44 will output the first frequency for an interval of time (e.g., 1 hour), then switch back and forth between the second frequency and the first frequency (e.g., switching every hour). Eventually (e.g., when the relevant substance has been exhausted from the patient's bloodstream), the controller 42 controls the control input so that the AC voltage generator 44 reverts to outputting the second frequency.
A set of electrodes (not shown) that are similar to the conventional electrodes used with Optune® are connected to the output of the AC voltage generator 44.
Additional experiments were performed to ascertain the impact on BBB permeability when the BBB is opened by applying alternating electric fields at one frequency that is optimized for opening the BBB (e.g., 100 kHz), and subsequently switching the frequency of the alternating fields to a different frequency (e.g., 200 kHz).
More specifically, these experiments tested an artificial BBB made using murine cerebEND cells that were stained with Claudin-5 antibody immunofluorescent staining, with the nuclei stained with DAPI. The BBB was treated with 100 kHz alternating electric fields with a field strength of 1.62 V/cm for 72 h, with the direction of the fields switching every 1 second between two perpendicular directions. After this initial 72 hour interval, the 100 kHz alternating electric fields were discontinued and 200 kHz alternating electric fields with a field strength of 1.62 V/cm were applied for a second interval of 5 days. Alternating electric fields were not applied to the control.
As explained above, Claudin 5 indicates the presence of an open BBB. Visual inspection of the images obtained after the initial 72 hour period revealed that the 100 kHz alternating electric fields disturbed the artificial BBB by delocalization of tight junction proteins from the cell boundaries to the cytoplasm, which indicates that the artificial BBB was open. And notably, visual inspection of the images obtained throughout the second interval (i.e., the 5-day interval) revealed that the artificial BBB remained open, despite the fact that the original 200 kHz alternating electric fields were no longer being applied. These findings indicate that a BBB that has previously been opened at one frequency (e.g., 100 kHz) that is optimized for opening the BBB will remain opened when alternating electric fields at a different frequency are applied, even when that a different frequency would not have been effective for switching the BBB from the closed condition to the open condition. In other words, the different frequency operates to maintain permeability of a previously-opened BBB.
In view of this, the following method for delivering a substance across a blood brain barrier of a subject's brain, which is illustrated in
Next, in step S140, the substance is administered to the subject at least 24 hours after the first period of time has elapsed. The maintained permeability of the blood brain barrier allows the substance to cross the blood brain barrier.
In some instances of the method depicted in
Note that in connection with any of the methods described above, the BBB should recover to its original low-permeability state after a sufficient amount of time has elapsed following the termination of the alternating electric field. This can be important in many contexts for the safety of the subject.
Note also that while the in vitro data described above was obtained using murine cells, preliminary data show similar effects for human cells in vitro.
Section 2—Increasing Cell Membrane Permeability
This section describes an approach for temporarily increasing the permeability of the plasma membranes of cells using alternating electric fields so that substances that are ordinarily blocked by the cell membrane will be able to cross the cell membrane, or so that substances that are ordinarily impeded by the cell membrane will be able to cross the cell membrane more easily. In some of the examples described herein, this approach is used for temporarily increasing the permeability of glioblastoma plasma cell membranes using alternating electric fields so that substances that are ordinarily impeded by the glioblastoma cell membrane will be able to cross the glioblastoma cell membrane more easily.
The inventors have demonstrated that TTFields treatment, in conjunction with a novel anticancer compound Withaferin A, synergistically inhibited the growth of human glioblastoma cells. The inventors hypothesized that such a synergistic effect is due to increased accessibility of Withaferin A to glioblastoma cells through TTFields' capability to increase transiently, tumor cell membrane permeability, as depicted schematically in
Studies were then performed that validate the hypothesis. In particular, evidence was found to show that TTFields exposure induced greater bioluminescence in human glioblastoma cells that have been modified to express luciferase (renilla and firefly), and that this induction is due to increased permeation of the substrates (D-luciferin and coelenterazine, respectively), through the plasma membrane. Increased membrane permeability caused by TTFields exposure was also demonstrated with other membrane-penetrating reagents such as Dextran-FITC and Ethidium D.
Using TTFields to increase membrane permeability in glioblastoma cells was also shown using 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA). 5-ALA is a hemoglobin precursor that is converted into fluorescent protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) in all mammalian cells. However, many malignant cells, including high-grade gliomas, have elevated hemoglobin biosynthesis, which is reflected in enhanced accumulation of PpIX within transformed cells and tissues (compared to non-cancerous cells). This property has prompted many medical investigations to use 5-ALA uptake (and, by consequence, its enzymatic conversion to PpIX) as a fluorescent biomarker for tumor cells. However, at the current level of technology, it can be difficult to distinguish the precise cellular margin between tumor and non-tumor tissue intraoperatively. Experiments described herein show that TTFields significantly enhances the tumor to normal cell ratio for PpIX fluorescence (brought on by 5-ALA exposure and uptake), and in this manner, may be used to better delineate tumor margins in intraoperative settings.
Further experiments using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) data demonstrate an increase in the number and size of holes in glioblastoma cell membranes caused by TTFields exposure, and that the morphology of the glioblastoma cell membrane is perturbed when TTFields are applied. Through all modalities studied (bioluminescence, fluorescence, and SEM), the effects of TTFields on the GBM cell membrane permeability were found to be reversible after cessation of TTFields exposure.
Section 2A—Results
Induction of TTFields Increases Bioluminescence (BLI) in Luciferase-Expressing Glioblastomas.
U87-MG/eGFP-fLuc cells were seeded on Thermanox glass coverslips, allowed to settle and grow, and then subjected to either TTFields or no TTFields. In this experiment, the use of TTFields (4 V/cm, 200 kHz, 0.5-24 h duration) significantly increased bioluminescence intensity (BLI) of U87-MG/eGFP-fLuc cells compared to unexposed conditions. This increase in BLI occurred as early as 30 minutes after commencement of TTFields and continued to 24 h of TTFields exposure. When ROI quantification was performed, the time course of BLI intensity for the TTFields-exposed samples was significantly elevated compared to TTFields-unexposed samples (p<0.0001, two-way ANOVA, TTFields vs. no TTFields). Data depicting the Temporal quantification of BLI results of these experiments is summarized in
The application of TTFields over time on another patient derived glioblastoma cell line, GBM2/GFP-fLuc also induced a time-dependent increase in bioluminescence in TTFields-exposed GBM2/GFP-fLuc cells when compared to no-TTFields controls (p<0.0001, two-way ANOVA, TTFields vs. no TTFields). This same effect was observed in a murine astrocytoma cell line (KR158B) that was genetically modified to express Renilla luciferase-red fluorescent protein fusion protein (p<0.0001, two-way ANOVA, TTFields vs. no TTFields). Renilla luciferase activity is not dependent upon ATP and magnesium (as opposed to firefly luciferase). Thus, it is believed that the induction of bioluminescence by TTFields was not due to alterations in endogenous pools of ATP.
Effect of TTFields on Uptake of Membrane-Associating Reagents.
To test if the imposition of TTFields affects cell membrane properties, and thus membrane permeability, the effect of TTFields on the behavior of fluorescently tagged reagents that bind to the cellular membrane was determined. Initially, the impact of TTFields on the binding of Annexin-V-APC to the membrane of U87-MG/eGFP-fLuc cells was measured. Annexin-V-APC binding is a signature of early apoptosis which is characterized by ruffling of the membrane. A positive control for apoptosis (addition of 21 μM Withaferin A to U87-MG/eGFP-fLuc cells) was used to assess the visibility of Annexin-V-APC binding to U87-MG/eGFP-fLuc cells, and showed that such binding could be visualized via fluorescence microscopy over TTFields-unexposed samples. However, when TTFields were applied to U87-MG/eGFP-fLuc cells, Annexin-V-APC binding was not observed at any time point of exposure to TTFields. It therefore appears that-TTFields did not induce any significant degree of apoptosis in the U87-MG cells.
Notably, ethidium D uptake was significantly increased when the U87-MG/eGFP-fLuc cells were subjected to 200 kHz TTFields, as depicted in
Another consequence of enhanced membrane permeability by TTFields is alterations in Dextran-FITC binding on the cell membrane. Dextran-FITC is known to bind and intercalate into the plasma membrane. When U87-MG cells were subjected to 1 h of 200 kHz TTFields, there was a significant uptake of Dextran-FITC of molecular weights 4 kDa and 20 kDa, compared to no TTFields exposure, as depicted in
Effect of TTFields on 5-Aminolevulinic (5-ALA) Acid Uptake: Single U87-MG Culture.
Experiments were performed to determine the effects of TTFields on uptake of 5-ALA (as measured by PpIX accumulation and its resultant fluorescence) in glioblastoma cells. Because it is difficult to distinguish the margin between tumor and normal cells using the present 5-ALA bioassay, the measurement of PpIX fluorescence was used to address this issue. Investigations were run to determine whether permeation of 5-ALA through the cellular membrane and into the glioblastoma cells could be increased with TTFields exposure. U87-MG cells were exposed or unexposed to TTFields, each for durations of 6-24 h. The results, which are summarized in
To generate the data depicted in
Effect of TTFields on 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Uptake: U87-MG GBM on PCS-201 Fibroblast Co-Cultures.
During glioblastoma resection in patients, 5-ALA is used to aid neurosurgeons in delineating between the tumors and surrounding normal brain tissue. Likewise, to distinguish differences in 5-ALA uptake between glioblastoma and normal cells, a co-culture was developed where U87-MG cells were seeded in the center of a bed of PCS-201 fibroblasts and were subjected to TTFields or to no TTFields. Fluorescent and brightfield photomicrographs confirmed the presence of discrete glioblastoma vs. fibroblast cell regions in the co-culture set-up. When co-cultures were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), photomicrographs revealed reduced numbers of GBM cells infiltrating into the fibroblast periphery for TTFields-exposed samples.
In particular, without TTFields exposure, the GBM cells formed many pockets of adherent neurospheres as was previously reported. Fluorescence images showed increased PpIX fluorescence in glioblastoma vs. fibroblast cells in the co-culture platforms that were subjected to TTFields for 6 h. The results, which are summarized in
In a separate set of experiments, by 24 h of TTFields application, the ratio of PpIX fluorescence intensity in the U87-MG glioblastoma cells over the surrounding PCS-201 fibroblast cells was significantly increased compared to the fluorescence intensity ratio for co-cultured cells under no TTFields conditions (p=0.043, two-way ANOVA, TTFields vs. no TTFields).
Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM) Shows that TTFields Alters Membrane Morphology of U87-MG/eGFP-fLuc Cells.
SEM images of low density (5,000 cells/coverslip) U87-MG/eGFP-fLuc cells that were either not exposed to TTFields or exposed to TTFields for 3 days were obtained at 2000×, 20,000×, and 60,000× magnifications. Data obtained by reviewing these SEM images is summarized in
The effects of a 24-h exposure to TTFields on the plasma membranes of U87-MG cells seeded at high density were also visually observed. For the no TTFields samples, the cell surface appeared to be covered in densely matted, elongated and flattened membrane extensions, similar to membrane ruffles and contiguous with the cellular membrane. In contrast, after 24 h of exposure to TTFields, the densely matted and elongated structures were replaced by short, bulbous and bleb-like structures.
For comparison, SEM images of normal human PCS-201 cells were also obtained and analyzed. PCS-201 cells were seeded at low density (5,000 cells per 13 mm glass coverslip). The cells were grown under standard tissue culture conditions (37° C., 95% 02, 5% CO2). Non-TTFields-exposed cells were left under those conditions for the duration of the study. Other cells were exposed to TTFields for 72 h. After 72 hours, the SEM images were obtained at 2000×, 20,000×, and 60,000× magnifications. Quantification and comparison between TTFields unexposed and exposed cells of the number and size of holes with area ≥51.8 nm2 (equivalent to a 4-nm radius circle, or 9 pixels2 on the 60,000× magnification images) within a 500 nm-radius circular region of interest. The minimum hole size cut-off was based on the 3.3 nm and 5.0 nm Stokes radii of 20 kDa and 50 kDa Dextran-FITCs, respectively. The results, which are depicted in
The effects of a 24-h exposure to TTFields on the plasma membranes of PCS-201 cells were also visually observed. Unlike the situation described above for the U87-MG cells, TTFields did not appear to alter the membrane morphology of the PCS-201 cells.
The Effect of TTFields on Membrane Permeability is Reversible.
To assess the reversibility of the effect of TTFields on cancer cells, U87-MG/eGFP-fLuc cells were subjected to three conditions: (1) No TTFields exposure, standard cell culture conditions (37° C., 95% O2, 5% CO2), (2) TTFields exposure for 24 h and (3) TTFields exposure for 24 h followed by no TTFields exposure for 24 h. The readouts of BLI, PpIX fluorescence (5-ALA product) and Dextran-FITC (4 kDa) fluorescence were acquired. All experimental conditions were done in triplicate.
To summarize, the uptake of the relevant compounds increased when alternating electric fields were applied (as compared to when alternating electric fields were not applied). Each of these figures also shows that the uptake decreased substantially after cessation of the alternating electric fields for 24 hours. From this, we can infer that the increase in permeability of the cell membranes that was induced by the alternating electric fields is not a permanent effect, and that the permeability drops back down after cessation of the alternating electric fields.
Additional Results for Different Drugs and Different Types of Cancer Cells.
The methods described herein are not limited to the context of glioblastoma. To the contrary—they are applicable to other types of cancer cells. More specifically, a substance can be delivered across a cell membrane of a cell by (a) applying an alternating electric field to the cell for a period of time, wherein application of the alternating electric field increases permeability of the cell membrane; and (b) introducing the substance to a vicinity of the cell. The increased permeability of the cell membrane enables the substance to cross the cell membrane. Notably, the methods described herein may be used to deliver large molecules (which ordinarily would not pass through the relevant cell membrane) through a cell membrane of different types of cells (i.e., cells other than glioblastoma), including but not limited to other types of cancer cells (e.g., MDA-MB-435 and MCF-7 cells).
In a variation of this experiment, MDA-MB-435 human melanoma cell line cells were treated with an alternating electric field at 150 kHz with a field strength of 1.62V/cm for 24 hours, at an ambient temperature of 18° C. and a dish temperature of 37° C. After this 24 hour period, the alternating electric fields were turned off for 15 minutes, after which the 7-AAD was added. After waiting an additional 15 minutes, the percentage of cells with increased accumulation of the fluorescent 7-AAD was determined using flow cytometry. This time, only ˜20% of the cells exhibited an increased accumulation of 7-AAD (bar 3 in
The results described above in connection with
Additional experiments were performed to determine whether synergy exists between TTFields and various drugs for various cancer cell lines, and
To date, synergy was found for the combination of TTFields plus Withaferin A for GBM39/Luc, U87-MG/GFP-Luc, and pcGBM2/GFP-Luc; synergy was found for the combination of TTFields plus Lomustine for GBM39/Luc, U87-MG/GFP-Luc, and pcGBM2/GFP-Luc; synergy was found for the combination of TTFields plus Irinotecan for GBM39/Luc; and synergy was found for the combination of TTFields plus Mannose for U87-MG/GFP-Luc. Evidence of synergy was also found for the combination of TTFields plus Doxorubicin for MDA-MB-235.
Section 2B—Discussion
Previous studies have focused on the effects of TTFields on the nucleus (e.g., microtubules), septin, mitochondria, and autophagy. But the experiments described herein are believed to be the first to report the effects of TTFields on cancer cellular membrane integrity, and demonstrate increased cellular membrane permeability for cancer cells (e.g., multiple human GBM cell lines) in the presence of TTFields using various evaluation techniques (e.g., bioluminescence imaging, fluorescence imaging, and scanning electron microscopy).
Observations revealed increased cellular membrane permeability for glioblastomas in the presence of TTFields across multiple human GBM cell lines. The approaches employed to validate the hypothesis included bioluminescence imaging, fluorescence imaging, and scanning electron microscopy. Observations also revealed increased cellular membrane permeability for other types of cancer cells in the presence of TTFields. Studies of TTFields in combination with chemotherapies have shown both therapeutic additivity and synergy. For this study, we posited that TTFields mediates improved accessibility to cancer cells. Several experiments showed the reversibility of the TTFields effect on membranes thus demonstrating a causal relationship between TTFields and the increase in membrane permeability. Such observations also suggest that TTFields could be used to tune drug accessibility to cancer cells.
The investigation into the cell permeability hypothesis of TTFields action was initiated partly because of observations of increased bioluminescence in luciferase-expressing GBM cells by TTFields. While not being bound by this theory, it is believed that TTFields induced increased permeability in the cellular membranes of GBM cells. It is believed that increased GBM cell permeability to D-luciferin as measured by BLI was not due to the effects of TTFields on luciferase itself, but rather due to an increased influx of its substrate D-luciferin into the cells engineered to express the firefly luciferase. Furthermore, this finding held true for both ATP-dependent (FLuc) and ATP-independent luciferase (RLuc). Therefore, despite a preliminary report suggesting that intracellular ATP was increased in CT26 colorectal carcinoma cells exposed to TTFields, the observation of increased glioblastoma cell membrane permeability in the setting of TTFields exposure suggests an independent phenomenon. An increased expression or activation of luciferase due to TTFields exposure could not have explained the increased BLI signal because in these cells the luciferase enzyme was controlled by the same promoter as was eGFP, and an increase in fluorescence signal was not observed in the same cells. However, exposure to TTFields may affect cellular metabolism that would be manifested by changes in ATP levels, alterations in membrane morphology and shifts in oxygen consumption.
Some key findings supporting the permeability hypothesis came from the Dextran-FITC validation experiments described above in connection with
The SEM findings described herein reveal that at low seeding density, 3 days of TTFields exposure caused a significant increase in the number and size of holes greater than 51.8 nm2 in area, compared to the no TTFields condition, as described above in connection with
Interestingly, exposure of normal human fibroblasts (PCS-201) to TTFields caused no significant increase in the number or size of cellular membrane holes, thus suggesting that the permeability effect may have some specificity to cancer cells. Qualitatively, for U87-MG cells, there was a clear onset of bulbous, bleb-like structures due to a 24-h exposure to TTFields under high seeding density. The appearance of these structures is consistent with increased permeability in the outer membrane and the induction of apoptosis and there appears to be little evidence of an apoptotic phenotype with a 24-h TTFields exposure. Furthermore, high-density PCS-201 cells displayed no such changes with TTFields exposure (data not shown) thus suggesting again, the specificity of the TTFields effect for cancer cells.
Although the cell cycle was not synchronized for the experiments, the doubling time of the U87-MG cells is ˜48 h and given that TTFields exert their maximal antiproliferative effect on dividing cells, this could explain the lack of observed abundant apoptosis after a 24-h TTFields exposure. An alternative interpretation may lie in reports that cellular blebbing may confer resistance to cellular lysis. A previous report in unsynchronized glioblastoma cells demonstrated that 72 h of TTFields exposure induced cell death with a marked proportion of Annexin V-positive cells. Using transmission electron microscopy, these reports described signs of autophagy including autophagosomes, swollen mitochondria, and a dilated endoplasmatic reticulum. In contrast, the results herein use SEM to better visualize the effects of TTFields specifically on the plasma cell membrane.
The increase in membrane permeability by TTFields has significant clinical implications. Using the co-culture platform of human GBM cells layered on top of normal human fibroblast cells, the impact of TTFields on the uptake of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) into GBM cells was studied. TTFields exposure resulted in significantly increased 5-ALA uptake in the GBM cells compared to the fibroblast cells. In June 2017, 5-ALA was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for clinical use in the United States to assist neurosurgeons in delineating the tumor-normal brain border during glioma resection. Pretreating glioma patients with TTFields prior to 5-ALA administration will therefore be useful to enhance the delineation of the infiltrative tumor margin during tumor resection.
With regard to detecting and measuring the effects of TTFields on cancer cells, the majority of cell culture-based studies to date have focused on cell count/viability as the primary readout. This is based on the prevailing understanding that TTFields interferes with mitosis of rapidly dividing tumor cells, which results in cancer cell death. In addition, computational modeling studies of TTFields in cell culture are currently driven by cell count as the primary outcome of the model.
Recurrence of GBM is inevitable and the median time to first recurrence despite standard therapy is approximately 7 months. In clinical applications of TTFields to patients with GBM, the data suggest that increased compliance and duration of TTFields use correlates with improved survival. TTFields compliance (≥75% vs. <75%) was an independent predictor of overall survival in the retrospective analysis of the full EF-14 trial dataset and the duration of use of TTFields was also found to affect overall survival. Taken together, these data may serve as clinical correlates of the observed effects in the cell cultured-based TTFields experimental setting. Namely, a correlation between the length of TTFields exposure and the duration of its effect on cell membrane permeability after cessation of TTFields was observed. At lengths of TTFields exposure of 0.5-3 h, the duration in BLI augmentation (compared to no TTFields conditions) lasted about 5 min. However, at TTFields exposures of 12-25 h, this difference in BLI between TTFields and no TTFields conditions lasted for more than 20 min. Likewise, a re-analysis of the data reported by Ram et al. shows that the percent increase in overall survival (in patients treated with TTFields plus temozolomide vs. temozolomide alone) jumped from 32% after 1 year of TTFields exposure to 551% after 5 years of TTFields exposure, respectively.
The results described herein i.e., that alternating electric fields increase cellular membrane permeability, are distinct from the previously reported effects of TTFields. This should have a significant impact on current surgical and clinical practices in the treatment of glioblastomas as well as other types of cancer.
In the in vitro experiments described above, the frequency of the alternating electric fields was 200 kHz. But in alternative embodiments, the frequency of the alternating electric fields could be another frequency, e.g., about 200 kHz, between 50 and 500 kHz, between 25 kHz and 1 MHz, between 50 and 190 kHz, between 25 and 190 kHz, or between 210 and 400 kHz.
In the in vitro experiments described above, the field strength of the alternating electric fields was between 1 and 4 V/cm RMS. But in alternative embodiments, different field strengths may be used (e.g., between 0.1 and 10 V/cm).
In the in vitro experiments described above, the alternating electric fields were applied for a variety of different intervals ranging from 0.5 hours to 72 hours. But in alternative embodiments, a different duration may be used (e.g., between 0.5 hours and 14 days). In some embodiments, application of the alternating electric fields may be repeated periodically. For example, the alternating electric fields may be applied every day for a two hour duration.
In the in vitro experiments using the Inovitro™ system described herein, the direction of the alternating electric fields was switched at one second intervals between two perpendicular directions. But in alternative embodiments, the direction of the alternating electric fields can be switched at a faster rate (e.g., at intervals between 1 and 1000 ms) or at a slower rate (e.g., at intervals between 1 and 100 seconds).
In the in vitro experiments using the Inovitro™ system described herein, the direction of the alternating electric fields was switched between two perpendicular directions by applying an AC voltage to two pairs of electrodes that are disposed 90° apart from each other in 2D space in an alternating sequence. But in alternative embodiments the direction of the alternating electric fields may be switched between two directions that are not perpendicular by repositioning the pairs of electrodes, or between three or more directions (assuming that additional pairs of electrodes are provided). For example, the direction of the alternating electric fields may be switched between three directions, each of which is determined by the placement of its own pair of electrodes. Optionally, these three pairs of electrodes may be positioned so that the resulting fields are disposed 90° apart from each other in 3D space. In other alternative embodiments, the electrodes need not be arranged in pairs. See, for example, the electrode positioning described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,565,205, which is incorporated herein by reference. In other alternative embodiments, the direction of the field remains constant.
In the in vitro experiments using the Inovitro™ system described herein, the electrical field was capacitively coupled into the culture because the Inovitro™ system uses conductive electrodes disposed on the outer surface of the dish sidewalls, and the ceramic material of the sidewalls acts as a dielectric. But in alternative embodiments, the electric field could be applied directly to the cells without capacitive coupling (e.g., by modifying the Inovitro™ system configuration so that the conductive electrodes are disposed on the sidewall's inner surface instead of on the sidewall's outer surface).
The methods described herein can also be applied in the in vivo context by applying the alternating electric fields to a target region of a live subject's body, for both glioblastoma cells and other types of cancer cells. Imposing the electric field in the target region will increase the permeability of the cell membranes in the target region, which will enable molecules that are ordinarily blocked or impeded by the cell membrane to pass through the cell membrane. This may be accomplished, for example, by positioning electrodes on or below the subject's skin so that application of an AC voltage between selected subsets of those electrodes will impose the alternating electric fields in the target region of the subject's body.
For example, in situations where the relevant cells are located in the subject's lungs, one pair of electrodes could be positioned on the front and back of the subject's thorax, and a second pair of electrodes could be positioned on the right and left sides of the subject's thorax. In some embodiments, the electrodes are capacitively coupled to the subject's body (e.g., by using electrodes that include a conductive plate and also have a dielectric layer disposed between the conductive plate and the subject's body). But in alternative embodiments, the dielectric layer may be omitted, in which case the conductive plates would make direct contact with the subject's body. In another embodiment, electrodes could be inserted subcutaneously below a patent's skin. An AC voltage generator applies an AC voltage at a selected frequency (e.g., between 100 and 200 kHz) between the right and left electrodes for a first period of time (e.g., 1 second), which induces alternating electric fields where the most significant components of the field lines are parallel to the transverse axis of the subject's body. Then, the AC voltage generator applies an AC voltage at the same frequency (or a different frequency) between the front and back electrodes for a second period of time (e.g., 1 second), which induces alternating electric fields where the most significant components of the field lines are parallel to the sagittal axis of the subject's body. This two step sequence is then repeated for the duration of the treatment. Optionally, thermal sensors may be included at the electrodes, and the AC voltage generator can be configured to decrease the amplitude of the AC voltages that are applied to the electrodes if the sensed temperature at the electrodes gets too high. In some embodiments, one or more additional pairs of electrodes may be added and included in the sequence. In alternative embodiments, only a single pair of electrodes is used, in which case the direction of the field lines is not switched. Note that any of the parameters for this in vivo embodiment (e.g., frequency, field strength, duration, direction-switching rate, and the placement of the electrodes) may be varied as described above in connection with the in the vitro embodiments. But care must be taken in the in vivo context to ensure that the electric field remains safe for the subject at all times.
A wide variety of applications for increasing the permeability of cell membranes can be readily envisioned in the in vivo context. In one example, localized enhancement of drug uptake by tumor cells can be induced by applying alternating electric fields to the relevant body part for a period of time (e.g., 12 or 24 hours) prior to and during administration of chemotherapies or other antineoplastic agents. In another example, drug uptake by multi drug resistant tumor cells can be restored by applying alternating electric fields to the relevant body part for a period of time (e.g., 12 or 24 hours) prior to and during administration of chemotherapies or other antineoplastic agents. In another example, development of multi drug resistant metastases can be prevented by applying alternating electric fields to regions that are prone to metastases for a period of time (e.g., 12 or 24 hours) prior to and during administration of an appropriate drug (regardless to whether the subject has a primary tumor that is being treated with alternating electric fields).
Alternatively, as depicted in
Note that the intervals of time discussed above in connection with
The optimal frequency, field strength, and switching characteristics may be determined experimentally for each combination of a given type of host cell and a given type of substance that is to be delivered through the cell membrane. In some preferred embodiments, the frequency is less than 190 kHz (e.g., between 50 and 190 kHz or between 25 and 190 kHz. In other preferred embodiments, the frequency is between 210 and 400 kHz.
One existing approach to treating tumors (e.g., glioblastoma) is by applying alternating electric fields at frequencies between 50 and 500 kHz, preferably between 100 and 300 kHz to the tumor. For glioblastoma, 200 kHz is the most preferred frequency. Alternating electric fields at these frequencies are referred to as TTFields, and are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,868,289 and 7,565,205, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Briefly, those two applications describe disrupting dividing cells during mitosis. The effectiveness of TTFields is improved when the direction of the electric field is periodically switched, when the strength of the field in at least a portion of the tumor is at least 1 V/cm, and when the fields are applied for long periods of time (e.g., weeks or months) with as few breaks as possible.
Situations may arise where it will be desirable to treat the tumor with TTFields and also deliver a substance across the cell membranes of the tumor cells (e.g., to help get a therapeutically effective amount of a chemotherapy drug past the cell membranes to provide an additional line of attack against the tumor). In some situations, it may be possible to use a single frequency of an alternating electric field to both treat the tumor and increase the permeability of the cell membranes. In other situations, it may be desirable to use alternating electric fields with different frequencies: a first frequency that is selected to provide improved results for increasing the permeability of the cell membranes, and a second frequency that is selected to provide improved results for the anti-tumor action of the TTFields.
In the first experiment, the U-87 MG cells were subjected to alternating electric fields with a field strength of 1.62 V/cm RMS at different frequencies for a period of 72 hours at an ambient temperature of 18° C. After this 72 hour period, the number of cells that were present in the sample for each of the different frequencies was measured using flow cytometry. As seen in
In the second experiment, permeability to 7-AAD (a fluorescent chemical with a molecular weight of 1270.43 g/mol that ordinarily does not readily pass through intact cell membranes) was measured. In this experiment, the cells were treated with an alternating electric field at different frequencies with a field strength of 1.62 V/cm RMS for a total of 24 hours, at an ambient temperature of 18° C. and a dish temperature of 37° C. After the first 23.75 hours, 7-AAD was added to the culture and incubated for 15 minutes during which time the alternating electric fields was continued (to complete the 24 hour period). After this 15 minute period, alternating electric field application was terminated and the cells were incubated at room temperature for an additional 15 minutes, followed by flow cytometry analysis of the percentage of cells with increased accumulation of the fluorescent 7-AAD for each of the different frequencies. As seen in
The experiments described above in connection with
When different frequencies are used for inducing cellular permeability and inducing cytotoxicity, the cytotoxicity frequency is preferably applied for the maximum amount of time that can be comfortably tolerated by the patient. Preferably, the cytotoxicity frequency is applied for at least one week. More preferably, the cytotoxicity frequency is applied for many months. Optionally, the interval of time during which the cytotoxicity frequency is applied may be split up into a plurality of non-contiguous intervals of time that are separated by breaks, where the plurality of non-contiguous intervals of time collectively add up to at least one week. In contrast, the frequency for inducing permeability is preferably applied so that the permeability is high when the relevant substance is located in the vicinity of the target cells (e.g., as described above in connection with
Upon receipt of the request, the controller 42 will place the control input in the first state so that the AC voltage generator 44 will output the first frequency for an interval of time (e.g., at least 1 hour, at least 12 hours, or at least 24 hours). After the interval of time has elapsed, the controller 42 will place the control input in the second state so that the AC voltage generator 44 reverts to outputting the second frequency.
Optionally, the AC voltage generator 44 may be configured to output one or more additional frequencies (e.g., a third frequency, a fourth frequency, etc.), depending on the state of the control input. Preferably each of these additional frequencies is selected to induce cytotoxicity. In these embodiments, the controller 42 is programmed to cycle the control input through the states that cause the AC voltage generator 44 to output the second frequency and the one or more additional frequencies before the request arrives. The controller 42 is also programmed to accept a request to switch to the first frequency. Upon receipt of the request, the controller 42 will place the control input in the first state so that the AC voltage generator 44 will output the first frequency for an interval of time (e.g., at least 1 hour, at least 12 hours, or at least 24 hours). After the interval of time has elapsed, the controller 42 will revert to cycling the control input through the states that cause the AC voltage generator 44 to output the second frequency and the one or more additional frequencies.
The system depicted in
Alternatively, upon receipt of the request (e.g., from the user interface 40), the controller 42 can control the control input so that the AC voltage generator 44 will output the first frequency for an interval of time (e.g., 1 hour), then switch back and forth between the second frequency and the first frequency (e.g., switching every hour). Eventually (e.g., when the relevant substance has been exhausted from the patient's bloodstream), the controller 42 controls the control input so that the AC voltage generator 44 reverts to outputting the second frequency.
A set of electrodes (not shown) that are similar to the conventional electrodes used with Optune® are connected to the output of the AC voltage generator 44.
The experimental data discussed in connection with
For those substances that ordinarily can traverse the cell membrane to a significant extent, the techniques described herein for increasing cell membrane permeability can be used to increase the quantity of the substance that will enter the cell. This can improve the therapeutic result provided by those substances. Examples of this class of substances discussed above include ethidium bromide (size=394 Da), doxorubicin (size=544 Da), Mitoxantrone (size=445 Da), etc.
And notably, the techniques described herein can also be used to enable substances that ordinarily could not traverse the cell membrane to a significant extent to enter the cell. Examples of this class of substances discussed above include (a) compounds that are at least 1.2 kDa (e.g., 7-AAD, whose size is 1.27 kDa), (b) compounds that are at least 4 kDa (e.g., 4 kDa Dextran-FITC, and (c) compounds that are at least 20 kDa (e.g., 20 kDa Dextran-FITC), (d) genetic material including but not restricted to supercoiled plasmid DNA, siRNA, and shRNA constructs, (e) genome editing system including but not restricted to meganucleases, zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector-based nucleases (TALEN) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR/Cas9), (f) any form of an antibody including but not limited to IgG, Fab, Fab′, F(ab′)2, scFv, di-scFv, sdAb. Such antibody can be either unconjugated or conjugated to cytotoxic agent, toxin, fluorophore, quantum dots, and enzymes, (g) charged molecules, and (h) small molecules, therapeutic entities, peptides, and proteins that typically do not permeate the cell membrane or are being destroyed during endocytosis. Providing the ability to get these substances through the cell membrane means that compounds that may previously have been rejected as ineffective in a compound-screening process (due to their inability to traverse the cell membrane) may suddenly become usable for therapeutic purposes when used in combination with an alternating electric field that enhances cellular permeability.
The methods described herein may also be useful beyond the context of cancer cells. More specifically, the methods described herein may be useful to deliver large molecules (which ordinarily would not pass through the relevant cell membrane) through a cell membrane of certain other non-cancerous cells (e.g., kidney cells, lung cells, liver cells, heart cells, brain cells, muscle cells, bone marrow cells, etc.). Delivery of such drugs can be enhanced by applying alternating electric fields to the relevant body part for a period of time (e.g., 24 hours) prior to and during administration those drugs. Candidates for such drugs include but are not limited to antiepileptic drugs and psychotropic drugs (e.g., olanzapine, 9-OH risperidone and other varieties of risperidone, etc.).
In yet another example, it may be possible to achieve localized enhancement of drug uptake in bacteria by applying alternating electric fields to the relevant body part for a period of time (e.g., 24 hours) prior to and during administration of a suitable antibiotic. In situations where a particular bacteria has evolved to be drug resistant or multidrug-resistant (e.g., based on a mechanism of action that involves the cell membrane), the application of alternating electric fields may increase the permeability of the bacteria's cell membrane to the point where the resistance can be overcome. Similar approaches may be used to enhance drug uptake to combat meningitis, pneumonia, infective endocarditis, etc. Note that in the in vivo context, the alternating electric fields may be applied to a target region (e.g., the lungs) that is tumor free. Alternatively, the alternating electric fields may be applied it to a target region that contains a tumor (e.g., a brain that includes a glioblastoma).
Section 2C—Material and Methods
Cell culture studies: Two patient-derived GBM lines (GBM2, GBM39), a commercially available human GBM cell line (U87-MG from ATCC, Manassas, Va., USA) as well as a murine astrocytoma cell line, (KR158B; a gift from Dr. Duane Mitchell of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Florida School of Medicine) were used. Human U87-MG, human PCS-201 and murine KR158B glioblastoma cell lines were grown in DMEM (Invitrogen/Life Technologies, Carlsbad, Calif., USA)/10% FBS/and 1× antibiotic-antimycotic (Invitrogen/Life Technologies, Carlsbad, Calif.). GBM2 and GBM39 were grown in a defined, serum-free media whose composition has been described previously.
Seeding of cells onto glass coverslips for TTFields experiments: Briefly, cells in culture were trypsinized via standard protocols and 10,000-50,000 single cells were suspended in 200 or 75 μL of DMEM/10% FBS/1× antibiotic-antimycotic and then were seeded onto the center of a 22 mm or 12 mm diameter glass Thermanox™ coverslips respectively (ThermoFisher Scientific, Waltham, Mass., USA). The cells were incubated overnight in a humidified 95% air/5% CO2 incubator set at 37° C. Once the cells became attached to the coverslip, 2 mL or 1 mL of DMEM/10% FBS/1× antibiotic-antimycotic was added per well of 6-well or 12-well plates, respectively. Unless otherwise stated in the Results section, the cells were left to grow on the coverslip for two to three days (in order to ensure cells were in the growth phase) before being transferred to ceramic dishes of an Inovitro™ in vitro TTFields apparatus (Novocure Inc., Haifa, Israel). Growth conditions (i.e., time cells allowed to grow under TTFields-exposed vs. unexposed conditions) are specified either in the Results section or in the corresponding figure legends.
In vitro tumor treating field apparatus: The coverslips were transferred to a ceramic dish of the Inovitro™ system, which in turn was mounted onto Inovitro™ base plates (Novocure Ltd., Haifa, Israel). Tumor treating fields at 200 kHz (1-4 V/cm) were applied through an Inovitro™ power generator. Incubator ambient temperatures spanned 20-27° C. with a target temperature of 37° C. in the ceramic dishes upon application of the TTFields. Duration of TTFields exposure lasted anywhere from 0.5 to 72 h, after which coverslips were removed and processed for the appropriate bioassays (see below). For reversibility experiments, the TTFields-exposed coverslips were transferred to a regular incubator without TTFields exposure for 24 h (off TTFields period to assess for reversibility of the TTFields effect on cell membrane permeability) prior to processing for the appropriate bioassays. Culture media were exchanged manually every 24 h throughout the experiments to account for evaporation. Corresponding control experiments (no TTFields) were done by placing equivalent coverslips within 6-well or 12-well plates into a conventional humidified tissue culture incubator (37° C., 95% air/5% CO2) and cells grown in parallel with the TTFields-exposed coverslips. Unless otherwise mentioned, all experiments were done in at least triplicate samples per condition and per time point.
Cell counting assay via hemocytometer: Preparation of cells for counting was achieved via established protocols and visualized on a Zeiss PrimoVert benchtop microscope (Dublin, Calif., USA). Unless otherwise stated, cell counts were done on trypsinized, single-cell suspensions with a hemocytometer and the mean of the four cell-count measurements was calculated and rounded to the nearest integer.
Bioluminescence imaging: For all bioluminescence work, we used genetically-modified GBM2, GBM39 and U87-MG whereby the glioblastoma cells were transfected with lentiviral vectors that expressed either firefly luciferase (fLuc for GBM39) or a fusion protein of GFP and firefly luciferase (GFP/fLuc for GBM2 and eGFP-fLuc for U87-MG) or a Renilla luciferase-Red Fluorescence protein fusion (RLuc-RL8 for KR158B). Cells were transduced using viral supernatants, and expression of luciferases was confirmed by measuring cellular luciferase activity (IVIS Spectrum; Perkin Elmer, Waltman, Mass.) in the presence of D-Luciferin (0.3 mg/mL final concentration) for fLuc and coelenterazine (1 μg/mL) for rLuc.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM): 5,000 (low seeding condition) to 50,000 (high seeding condition) U87-MG/eGFP-fLuc cells or PCS-201 fibroblast cells were deposited onto 13 mm glass coverslips and then prepared for TTFields experiments. Cells were grown under standard tissue culture incubator conditions (37° C., 95% 02, 5% CO2). At the end of the TTFields-exposed and TTFields-unexposed experiments (1 day for high-seeding conditions and 3 days for low-seeding conditions), the coverslips were processed for SEM. All ROI analyses were performed in a blinded manner in which neither the individual responsible for SEM image acquisition nor the one performing data analyses knew of the experimental conditions for the samples. A third individual had possession of the sample identities.
Chemical reagents: Unless otherwise stated, all chemicals were purchased from Selleckchem Inc. (Houston, Tex., USA), Thermo-Fisher Scientific (Waltham, Mass., USA), or Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, Mo., USA). Purified firefly luciferin or firefly luciferase (SRE0045-2MG) as well as the Ethidium D apoptosis kit (11835246001) were purchased from Sigma Aldrich Inc (St. Louis, Mo.). Dextran-FITC of molecular weights 4, 20, and 50 kDa (FD4, FD20 and FD50), were purchased from Sigma Aldrich Inc. as well. 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA, AAA16942ME) and the AnnexinV-APC kit (50712549) were purchased from Thermo-Fisher Scientific Inc (Waltham, Mass.).
Statistical analysis: The PRISM 7.0 software (GraphPad Software Inc., La Jolla, Calif., USA) was used to determine whether the data were normally distributed. Normally distributed data were analyzed with two-way Student's t-test or analysis of variance (ANOVA) comparisons of means, while nonnormally-distributed data were analyzed with nonparametric analyses (e.g., Mann-Whitney U test comparison of medians). The level of statistical significance was set at alpha=0.05. Bonferroni or Dunnet post-hoc corrections were employed to adjust alpha for multiple comparisons. All data are presented as range, mean±standard deviation, median (interquartile range), or percent. In all figures, the levels of statistically significant differences are represented by: *p<0.05, **p<0.01, and ***p<0.001.
Section 3—Increasing Both the Permeability of the BBB and Cell Membrane Permeability
The experiments described above in connection with
Notably, the time that is needed to increase the permeability of the blood brain barrier is larger than the time needed to increase the permeability of cell membranes (using respective alternating electric fields) by a very significant extent. For example, it can take between 2 and 3 days to increase the permeability of the BBB, while it may take only 1 hour to increase the permeability of cell membranes. Furthermore, the experiments described above reveal that it takes significantly longer for the permeability of the blood brain barrier to return it to its original closed state than it does for the permeability of cell membranes to return to their original closed state after the respective alternating electric fields are discontinued.
In certain situations, it may be desirable to deliver a given therapeutic substance into the interior of cells that are located on the brain side of the BBB. In these situations, applying alternating electric fields to the subject's head at a first frequency can make the BBB permeable so that the substance can traverse the BBB. And applying alternating electric fields to the subject's head at a second frequency can make the cell membranes permeable so that the substance can traverse the cell membranes.
More specifically, a substance can be delivered to the interior of target cells located beyond a blood brain barrier of a subject's brain by (a) applying a first alternating electric field at a first frequency to the subject's head for a first period of time, wherein application of the first alternating electric field at the first frequency to the subject's head for the first period of time increases permeability of the blood brain barrier; and (b) applying a second alternating electric field at a second frequency to the subject's head for a second period of time, wherein application of the second alternating electric field at the second frequency to the subject's head for the second period of time increases permeability of cell membranes of the target cells. The second frequency is different from the first frequency. After the first period of time has elapsed, the substance is administered to the subject. The increased permeability of the blood brain barrier enables the substance to cross the blood brain barrier and the increased permeability of the cell membrane enables the substance to cross the cell membrane.
Because it takes a significant amount of time (e.g., on the order of days) for the BBB to become permeable in response to application of the first-frequency alternating electric field, it can be advantageous to begin the second period of time (during which the second-frequency alternating electric field is applied) after the first-frequency alternating electric field has been applied for at least 24 hours or at least 48 hours.
In contrast, it can take much less time (e.g., on the order of 1 hour) for cell membranes to become permeable in response to application of the second-frequency alternating electric field. Because of this, the second-frequency alternating electric field can be applied shortly before or shortly after administration of the substance. For example, the application of the second-frequency alternating electric field may begin 1 hour before the substance is administered and may end when the substance is no longer circulating in the subject's body (e.g., at least 2, at least 4, or at least 12 hours after the substance is administered). Alternatively, the application of the second-frequency alternating electric field may begin a short time after the substance is administered and continue for a second period of time (e.g., at least 2 hours), as long as the substance is still circulating in the subject's body.
In some embodiments, the application of the second-frequency alternating electric field begins after the BBB has become permeable (e.g., by applying the first-frequency alternating electric field for at least 24 hours or at least 48 hours). Subsequently, the second-frequency alternating electric field is applied for a second interval of time until the cell membranes become permeable. Because it takes many hours for the permeability of the BBB to decline, it is not necessary to apply the first-frequency alternating electric field during the second interval of time.
In some embodiments, the first frequency is between 75 kHz and 125 kHz. In some embodiments, the first alternating electric field has a field strength of at least 1 V/cm RMS.
In some embodiments, the cell comprises a cancer cell, and the substance comprises a cancer drug. In some embodiments, the cell comprises a bacterium, and the substance comprises an antibiotic. In some embodiments, the cell comprises a yeast cell, and the substance comprises an anti-yeast drug. In some embodiments, the cell comprises a fungus cell, and the substance comprises an anti-fungus drug. In some embodiments, the cell comprises a parasite cell, and the substance comprises an anti-parasite drug. In some embodiments, the cell comprises a brain cell.
Optionally, in addition to the first-frequency and second-frequency alternating electric fields described above, a third-frequency alternating electric field may be applied to the subject's head for a third period of time, wherein application of the third-frequency alternating electric field inhibits growth of cancer cells. Optionally, in addition to the first-frequency and second-frequency alternating electric fields described above, a third-frequency alternating electric field may be applied to the subject's head for a third period of time, wherein application of the third-frequency alternating electric field inhibits growth of bacteria. Optionally, in addition to the first-frequency and second-frequency alternating electric fields described above, a third-frequency alternating electric field may be applied to the subject's head for a third period of time, wherein application of the third-frequency alternating electric field inhibits growth of yeast. Optionally, in addition to the first-frequency and second-frequency alternating electric fields described above, a third-frequency alternating electric field may be applied to the subject's head for a third period of time, wherein application of the third-frequency alternating electric field inhibits growth of fungus. Optionally, in addition to the first-frequency and second-frequency alternating electric fields described above, a third-frequency alternating electric field may be applied to the subject's head for a third period of time, wherein application of the third-frequency alternating electric field inhibits growth of parasites.
Optionally, the first interval of time during which the first-frequency field is applied may be split up into a plurality of non-contiguous intervals of time that are separated by breaks, where the plurality of non-contiguous intervals of time collectively add up to at least 24 hours. The timing of application of the second-frequency alternating electric field is such that the permeability of the cell membrane will be high when the relevant substance is located in the vicinity of the target cells.
The application of the first and second frequencies may be accomplished using a single AC voltage generator that is controllable to output a first frequency to induce BBB permeability at certain times and a second frequency to induce cell membrane permeability at other times. The same set of transducer arrays (i.e., electrodes) may be used to apply the alternating electric fields at these two frequencies (depending on which frequency is applied by the AC voltage generator).
Optionally, the AC voltage generator 144 may be configured to output one or more additional frequencies (e.g., a third frequency, a fourth frequency, etc.), depending on the state of the control input. These additional frequencies may be selected, for example, to inhibit growth of cancer cells for cancers that originated in the brain (e.g., glioblastoma cells), to inhibit growth of cancer cells for cancers that have metastasized to the brain, to inhibit growth of bacteria, to inhibit the growth of yeast, or to inhibit the growth of fungus, to inhibit growth of parasites. In these embodiments, the controller 142 is programmed to step the control input through the states that cause the AC voltage generator 144 to output the first second, and additional frequencies at appropriate times.
A set of electrodes (not shown) that are similar to the conventional electrodes used with Optune® are connected to the output of the AC voltage generator 144.
Section 4—Using Alternating Electric Fields to Increase the Permeability of the BBB Combined with Alternating Electric Fields at Frequencies that Inhibit Growth of a Pathogen or Parasite
Section 1 above describes how to use alternating electric fields at a first frequency to increase the permeability of the BBB (so that a substance will be able to traverse the BBB), in combination with alternating electric fields at a second frequency that is optimized to inhibit growth of a tumor. And this combination is useful for treating a brain tumor because the first-frequency alternating electric field will enable an anti-tumor substance to traverse the BBB, and the second-frequency alternating electric field inhibits growth of the tumor.
Assume now that a particular subject has a pathogen (e.g., bacteria) or parasite in his or her brain, and it would be advantageous to treat this particular condition with a therapeutic substance (e.g., an antibiotic) that ordinarily cannot traverse the BBB. In this situation, applying an alternating electric field at a first frequency (as described above in connection with section 1) will enable the substance to traverse the BBB. But instead of applying an alternating electric field at a second frequency that is optimized to inhibit growth of a tumor (as described above in connection with section 1), the second frequency is selected to inhibit growth of the pathogen or parasite.
The timing of the application of the first and second frequencies in these embodiments is the same as the timing of the anti-tumor embodiments described above in section 1, and the methods and apparatuses for inhibiting pathogen or parasite growth are very similar to the methods and apparatuses for inhibiting tumor growth described above in connection with section 1. But there are two main differences between the anti-pathogen/parasite embodiments described in this section and the anti-tumor embodiments described in section 1. More specifically, the anti-pathogen/parasite embodiments use a second frequency that is selected to inhibit growth of the pathogen/parasite (e.g., at least 2 MHz for bacteria); and the therapeutic substance is selected to combat the pathogen/parasite (instead of being selected to combat the tumor).
These embodiments are used to treat the pathogen or parasite by applying a first alternating electric field at a first frequency between 50 kHz and 200 kHz to the subject's head for a first period of time, wherein application of the first alternating electric field at the first frequency to the subject's head for the first period of time increases permeability of the blood brain barrier. A therapeutic substance for treating the pathogen or parasite is administered to the subject after the first period of time has elapsed, and the increased permeability of the blood brain barrier enables the substance to cross the blood brain barrier. A second alternating electric field at a second frequency (e.g., at least 2 MHz for bacteria) is applied to the subject's head for a second period of time, wherein application of the second alternating electric field at the second frequency to the subject's head for the second period of time inhibits growth of the pathogen or parasite.
As in the embodiments described above in section 1, the first period of time may be at least 24 hours or at least 48 hours, the first frequency may be between 75 kHz and 125 kHz, and the first alternating electric field may have a field strength of at least 1 V/cm RMS. But unlike the embodiments described above in section 1, the second frequency is selected to treat the pathogen or parasite. For treating bacteria the second frequency is at least 2 MHz, and may optionally be between 2 MHz and 20 MHz, such as between 5 MHz and 20 MHz.
While the present invention has been disclosed with reference to certain embodiments, numerous modifications, alterations, and changes to the described embodiments are possible without departing from the sphere and scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the described embodiments, but that it has the full scope defined by the language of the following claims, and equivalents thereof.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 63/217,084, filed Jun. 30, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63217084 | Jun 2021 | US |
