The COSMOS project vision targeted the broad field of bioelectricity beyond cellular excitability, advancing the path toward bioelectricity-based theranostics. This field, also known as bioelectronic medicine, aims at unravelling the fundamental role of bioelectricity in homeostatic regulation of key life processes happening at the cellular and tissue scales, and develop translatable technologies for critical areas of medical research, including wound healing, cancer, ageing, and morphogenesis.
Endogenous electric fields (EFs) play a crucial role both in cell development and pathology. The directional migration of cells in an EF is known as galvanotaxis and represents a dominant mechanism in guiding the behaviour of multiple cell populations in mammals, fishes, amphibians, and plants. EF perturbations induce localized bioelectrical changes which trigger different cell responses, such as mitosis, migration, and mutation. Naturally occurring EFs can be altered by pharmacological administration to foster different cellular responses. For example, upon manipulating the EF in wounds, epithelial cells follow the direction of the signal, promoting or inhibiting corneal regeneration based on EF polarity. Another key example in the field of cancer biology regards the employment of tumor treating fields (TTFs) and electroceuticals acting on dysregulated ion channels in cellular membranes.
Regenerative medicine and pharmaceutical strategies aim at restoring diseased or damaged tissues resulting from a range of conditions. However, their clinical translation remains a major challenge, due to the lack of knowledge on the mechanisms underlying these processes. This technological and knowledge gap has a high price for our healthcare systems. For example, medicare cost estimates for acute wound treatments are $28-$96 billion per year.
In this scenario, technology can play two important roles:
1) Scientific Advancement: Knowledge as the Main Goal. Exploit existing microsystems to investigating bioelectricity beyond cellular excitability, and access unknown biological information by targeting unexplored applications.
2) Technological Advancement: Translation as the Main Goal. In parallel, existing technologies can be refined and improved to develop nanosystems that can interface living matter either non-invasively and with higher throughput, or probing biological signals unaccessible with current methods.
In the context of COSMOS, preliminary steps were conducted in both directions in the fields of non-excitable cells bioelectricity, with a focus on epithelial cells and cancer cells.
