Magnetic control of membrane damage in early endosomes using internalized magnetic nanoparticles

Membrane stiffness is essential for cell migration, tumorigenesis, and development; however, the physical properties of intracellular membrane are poorly characterized. In this study, we internalized 20 nm magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) into MCF7 human breast cancer cells and applied a magnetic field. We investigated whether magnetic field could induce membrane damage of the early endosomes by analyzing the colocalization of MNPs with galectin 3 (Gal3), a cytosolic protein recruited to the lumen of damaged organelles. We first tried to apply magnetic field by electromagnet, and found a direct-current (DC) magnetic field for five minutes increased the colocalization of the MNPs with Gal3, suggesting that the magnetic field damaged the endosomal membrane. We used a neodymium magnet to apply longer and stronger static magnetic fields. The static magnetic field more than 50 mT for five minutes started to damage endosomes, while 100 mT was the most effective. Longer exposure or higher magnetic field strengths did not induce further membrane damage. We confirmed that a Gal3 positive compartment was also positive for the early endosome marker, EEA1, suggesting that the external magnetic field induced membrane damage in the early endosomes. Our results indicate that a static magnetic field can control the membrane damage in early endosomes using internalized MNPs.Key words: magnetic nanoparticles, endosomes, membrane damage, organelle.