Dual-Interface Nanopore Array Sensor Revealing the Synergistic Oscillations of Lactate Efflux in Cancer Cells

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cancer Metabolism
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Lactate is crucial in tumor metabolism and signaling, influencing the tumor microenvironment.
• Understanding lactate efflux is key to cancer cell adaptation and stress response.
• Reactive oxygen species (ROS) interfere with traditional lactate sensing methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a sensor capable of accurately quantifying lactate efflux from cancer cells.
• To overcome the interference of endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) in lactate measurements.
• To investigate the dynamics of lactate efflux in response to stimuli.

Main Methods:

• Development of a dual-interface nanopore array sensor (DINAS).
• Integration of an anti-ROS interface and a lactate sensing interface.
• Culturing cancer cells on the sensor to monitor ROS and lactate diffusion.

Main Results:

• The DINAS sensor successfully quantified lactate efflux by removing ROS interference.
• Drug-induced lactate efflux showed a time-dependent "rise-then-fall" pattern, indicating metabolic reprogramming.
• A synergistic oscillation in lactate efflux at the cell population level was unexpectedly observed.

Conclusions:

• The DINAS sensor provides a robust method for studying cancer cell metabolism.
• Observed lactate efflux dynamics offer insights into cancer cell energy adaptation.
• The discovery of population-level lactate oscillation may lead to novel precision anticancer therapies targeting metabolic regulation.