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Kinetics of sealing for transient electropores in isolated mammalian skeletal muscle cells
Author(s) -
Bier Martin,
Hammer Stephanie M.,
Canaday Daniel J.,
Lee Raphael C.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
bioelectromagnetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.435
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-186X
pISSN - 0197-8462
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1521-186x(1999)20:3<194::aid-bem6>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - electroporation , skeletal muscle , biophysics , transmembrane protein , membrane potential , intracellular , chemistry , transient (computer programming) , lipid bilayer , extracellular , membrane , anatomy , biology , biochemistry , receptor , gene , computer science , operating system
Permeabilization of the plasma membrane by electrical forces (electroporation) can be either transient or stable. Although the exact molecular mechanics have not yet been described, electroporation is believed to initiate primarily in the lipid bilayer. To better understand the kinetics of membrane permeabilization, we sought to determine the time constants for spontaneous transient pore sealing. By using isolated rat flexor digitorum brevis skeletal muscle cells and a two‐compartment diffusion model, we found that pore sealing times (τ P ) after transient electroporation were approximately 9 min. τ P was not significantly dependent on the imposed transmembrane potential. We also determined the transmembrane potential (ΔV m ) thresholds necessary for transient and stable electroporation in the skeletal muscle cells. ΔV m s ranging between 340 mV and 480 mV caused a transient influx of magnesium, indicating the existence of spontaneously sealing pores. An imposed ΔV m of 540 mV or greater led to complete equilibration of the intracellular and extracellular magnesium concentrations. This finding suggests that stable pores are created by the larger imposed transmembrane potentials. These results may be useful for understanding nerve and skeletal muscle injury after an electrical shock and for developing optimal strategies for accomplishing transient electroporation, particularly for gene transfection and cell transformation. Bioelectromagnetics 20:194–201, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.