Targeting Lung Cancer Cell Motility Using Microbeam Radiation Therapy

Dağkazanlı, Ömer; Čolić, Aleksandra; Lindner, Rainer; Bartzsch, Stefan; Combs, Stephanie E.; Schmid, Thomas E.; Franco, Marina Santiago

doi:10.3390/cells15020107

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Open AccessArticle

Targeting Lung Cancer Cell Motility Using Microbeam Radiation Therapy

by

Ömer Dağkazanlı

^1,2

,

Aleksandra Čolić

^1,2,

Rainer Lindner

²,

Stefan Bartzsch

^1,2

,

Stephanie E. Combs

^1,2,

Thomas E. Schmid

^1,2,* and

Marina Santiago Franco

^1,2,*

¹

Department of Radiation Oncology, TUM School of Medicine and Health and Klinikum Rechts der Isar, University Hospital of the Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675 Munich, Germany

²

Institute of Radiation Medicine (IRM), Helmholtz Zentrum München GmbH, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Cells 2026, 15(2), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15020107

Submission received: 12 December 2025 / Revised: 2 January 2026 / Accepted: 5 January 2026 / Published: 7 January 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cell Migration and Invasion)

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Abstract

Radiotherapy (RT) is currently among the standard treatments for lung cancer. However, in vitro studies have revealed that irradiation can increase lung cancer cell motility. This way, RT could potentially enhance the malignancy of solid tumors post-treatment, promoting metastasis. Therefore, there is a continued need to continue evolving RT modalities into safer and more effective treatments. The present study compares the impact of the broad beam (BB) and the spatially fractionated modality of microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) on the motility of A549 lung cancer cells. Our data corroborates previous findings that showed BB irradiation is a promoter of cell motility. For MRT, however, we observed a prevention of cellular migration. A significant reduction in NF-κB expression was observed only when A549 cells were irradiated with MRT, indicating a potential mechanism behind these findings. Finally, our data supports potential issues regarding MRT irradiation of key components of the tumor microenvironment, such as fibroblasts. Co-culturing A549 cells with MRT-irradiated MRC-5 lung fibroblasts led to increased tumor cell invasion, not observed when the fibroblasts received BB irradiation.

Keywords: invasion; irradiation; metastasis; migration; NF-κB; CD44; spatial fractionation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Dağkazanlı, Ö.; Čolić, A.; Lindner, R.; Bartzsch, S.; Combs, S.E.; Schmid, T.E.; Franco, M.S. Targeting Lung Cancer Cell Motility Using Microbeam Radiation Therapy. Cells 2026, 15, 107. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15020107

AMA Style

Dağkazanlı Ö, Čolić A, Lindner R, Bartzsch S, Combs SE, Schmid TE, Franco MS. Targeting Lung Cancer Cell Motility Using Microbeam Radiation Therapy. Cells. 2026; 15(2):107. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15020107

Chicago/Turabian Style

Dağkazanlı, Ömer, Aleksandra Čolić, Rainer Lindner, Stefan Bartzsch, Stephanie E. Combs, Thomas E. Schmid, and Marina Santiago Franco. 2026. "Targeting Lung Cancer Cell Motility Using Microbeam Radiation Therapy" Cells 15, no. 2: 107. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15020107

APA Style

Dağkazanlı, Ö., Čolić, A., Lindner, R., Bartzsch, S., Combs, S. E., Schmid, T. E., & Franco, M. S. (2026). Targeting Lung Cancer Cell Motility Using Microbeam Radiation Therapy. Cells, 15(2), 107. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15020107

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Targeting Lung Cancer Cell Motility Using Microbeam Radiation Therapy

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