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Reorganization of microfilament structure induced by ac electric fields
Author(s) -
Cho Michael R.,
Thatte Hemant S.,
Lee Raphael C.,
Golan David E.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.10.13.8940302
Subject(s) - microfilament , electric field , cytoskeleton , biophysics , cytoplasm , physics , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , cell , biochemistry , quantum mechanics
AC electric fields induce redistribu‐tion of integral membrane proteins. Cell‐surface re‐ceptor redistribution does not consistently follow electric field lines and depends critically on the frequency of the applied ac electric fields, suggesting that mechanisms other than electroosmosis are involved. We hypothesized that cytoskeletal reorganization is responsible for electric field‐induced cell‐surface receptor redistribution, and used fluorescence video microscopy to study the reorganization of microfilaments in human hepatoma (Hep3B) cells exposed to low‐frequency electric fields ranging in strength from 25 mV/cm to 20 V/cm (peak to peak). The frequency of the applied electric field was varied from 1 to 120 Hz and the field exposure duration from 1 to 60 min. In control cells, cytoplas‐mic microfilaments were aligned in the form of continuous parallel cables along the longitudinal axis of the cell. Exposure of cells to ac electric fields induced alterations in microfilament structure in a manner that depended on the frequency of the applied field. A 1 or 10 Hz ac field caused microfilament reorganization from continuous, aligned cable structures to discontinuous globular patches. In contrast, the structure of microfilaments in cells exposed to 20‐120 Hz electric fields did not differ from that in control cells. The extent of microfilament reor‐ganization increased nonlinearly with the electric field strength. The characteristic time for microfila‐ment reorganization in cells exposed to a 1 Hz, 20 V/cm electric field was ~5 min. Applied ac electric fields could initiate signal transduction cascades, which in turn cause reorganization of cytoskeletal structures.—Cho, M. R., Thatte, H. S., Lee, R. C., Golan, D. E. Reorganization of microfilament struc‐ture induced by ac electric fields. FASEB J . 10, 1552‐1558 (1996)