Long-term changes in transmembrane voltage after electroporation are governed by the interplay between nonselective leak current and ion channel activation

Blažič, Anja (author), Guinard, Manon (author), Leskovar, Tomaž (author), O'Connor, Rodney P. (author), Rems, Lea (author)

Electroporation causes a temporal increase in cell membrane permeability and leads to prolonged changes in transmembrane voltage (TMV) in both excitable and non-excitable cells. However, the mechanisms of these TMV changes remain to be fully elucidated. To this end, we monitored TMV over 30 min after exposing two different cell lines to a single 100 µs electroporation pulse using the FLIPR Membrane Potential dye. In CHO-K1 cells, which express very low levels of endogenous ion channels, membrane depolarization following pulse exposure could be explained by nonselective leak current, which persists until the membrane reseals, enabling the cells to recover their resting TMV. In U-87 MG cells, which express many different ion channels, we unexpectedly observed membrane hyperpolarization following the initial depolarization phase, but only at 33 °C and not at 25 °C. We developed a theoretical model, supported by experiments with ion channel inhibitors, which indicated that hyperpolarization could largely be attributed to the activation of calcium-activated potassium channels. Ion channel activation, coupled with changes in TMV and intracellular calcium, participates in various physiological processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis. Therefore, our study suggests that ion channels could present a potential target for influencing the biological response after electroporation.

• Language: English
• Keywords: electroporation, transmembrane voltage, calcium, temperature, ion channels, theoretical model
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FE - Faculty of Electrical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 13 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 161, art. 108802
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-161960
• UDC: 602.621:621.31
• ISSN on article: 1567-5394
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bioelechem.2024.108802
• COBISS.SI-ID: 207602179
• Publication date in RUL: 17.09.2024

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Bioelectrochemistry
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1567-5394
• COBISS.SI-ID: 2502484

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: elektroporacija, transmembranska napetost, kalcij, temperatura, ionski kanali, teoretični model