Electroporation-based therapies are gaining increasing importance in medicine, although the molecular mechanisms governing electroporation-induced cell death remain poorly understood. In this study, we examined the temporal expression patterns of genes associated with apoptosis, pyroptosis, necroptosis, and autophagy at 4 and 24 h following in vitro exposure to monopolar and high-frequency bipolar electric pulses applied at increasing electric field strengths. Our findings reveal distinct temporal patterns of molecular responses following electroporation, highlighting the dynamic nature of electroporation-induced cell death. Apoptosis-associated transcriptional changes were more prominent during the early post-treatment period, whereas genes linked to pyroptosis and necroptosis showed stronger responses at later stages. Among the investigated pathways, necroptosis-associated genes displayed the most pronounced changes in expression. Conversely, the expression patterns of autophagy-related genes suggested a role in cellular stress adaptation rather than autophagic cell death. Overall, these results advance our understanding of the molecular responses to electroporation and highlight the importance of temporal regulation in determining cellular outcomes following pulsed electric field exposure.
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