Meet Illaria Liedtke, the 17-year-old who used magnets to change brain cell signals and reduce signs of cellular stress in a lab |
Illaria Liedtke, a 17-year-old from Rye, New York, has developed a way to influence brain cells using magnets rather than implanted devices. She received the $10,000 H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research for the work. Her project targeted astrocytes, brain cells whose calcium signalling can be disrupted in nervous system diseases. According to Society for Science, she added a magnetic-responsive material to astrocyte cells in the laboratory and exposed them to magnets, which changed their calcium signalling, which the cells use to communicate. Under conditions that mimic a brain injury, her system reduced signs of cellular stress, according to Society for Science.
How did a student use magnets to control brain cells without implants
According to Illaria’s presentation, disrupted calcium signals in astrocytes can greatly drive central nervous system diseases, because astrocytes use these signals to sustain brain homeostasis. She said that precise neuromodulation is therefore critical for effective therapies. Society for Science similarly reports that nervous system diseases can disrupt calcium signalling in astrocytes, the brain cells at the centre of her study.Illaria stated in her presentation that existing strategies are either overly invasive or unable to target glial function. There are few ways to precisely control astrocytes remotely. Her study therefore proposed a new platform that uses magnetism for non-invasive neuromodulation, aimed at a type of brain cell that current approaches do not target well.
Magnesium iron hydrotalcite helps control calcium signalling
Illaria was inspired by the physics of magnetic levitation. She first created a material that responds to magnetic fields and, in the laboratory, added it to astrocyte cells. According to her presentation, the platform works by engineering the astrocytic extracellular matrix with magnesium iron hydrotalcite, a biocompatible paramagnetic material.Illaria described two research questions in her presentation. The first was whether magnetomechanical coupling can tune the calcium response, which she said would make the platform relevant to a wide variety of disease contexts. The second was whether the platform can restore calcium and osmotic homeostasis following oxidative stress, which she described as a model for neural injury and for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and stroke.
How did magnetic stimulation change calcium signalling patterns
Calcium imaging showed that the hydrotalcite alone induced low-oscillatory calcium activity, and that applying static magnetism in addition tuned the response. She reported that acute stimulation produced sustained calcium elevations, while chronic stimulation produced robust wavelike ones. Society for Science reports that when the cells were exposed to magnets, their calcium signalling, which the cells use to communicate, changed, and that different magnetic conditions produced different patterns.Illaria also studied the biology behind the effect. She confirmed that a channel in the astrocytes called TRPV4 was responsible for the changes in calcium signalling. In her presentation, she said the results suggest the platform can act as a remote switch for a variety of precise, desired astrocytic responses.
Fluorescent cell area analysis was used to measure signs of cellular stress
Under oxidative stress, the hydrotalcites significantly suppressed aberrant calcium hyperactivity and reduced cell swelling. She said this was measured through fluorescent cell area analysis, used as a proxy for cytotoxic oedema. Society for Science reports that under conditions that mimic a brain injury, she was able to use the system to reduce signs of cellular stress.Illaria concluded in her presentation that the work establishes an engineered platform using magnetism for remote, tunable glial modulation, which could offer a transformative approach to therapies for central nervous system diseases. Her research could help lead to new therapies that regulate brain activity without implanted electrical devices.
