Cellular spin resonance in rotating electric fields

Cells and certain other electrically polarizable objects can be seen to spin when in a rotating electric field. When a rotating field (from four Pt electrodes) is applied over a frequency range of 500 to 75,000 Hz, living cells exhibit two or three response peaks, whereas dead cells exhibit only one response peak. Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) exhibit two peaks. The nature of these cellular spin resonances is under active study.     

Cryosurgery with pulsed electric fields

This study explores the hypothesis that combining the minimally invasive surgical techniques of cryosurgery and pulsed electric fields will eliminate some of the major disadvantages of these techniques while retaining their advantages. Cryosurgery, tissue ablation by freezing, is a well-established minimally invasive surgical technique. One disadvantage of cryosurgery concerns the mechanism of cell death; cells at high subzero temperature on the outer rim of the frozen lesion can survive. Pulsed electric fields (PEF) are another minimally invasive surgical technique in which high strength and very rapid electric pulses are delivered across cells to permeabilize the cell membrane for applications such as gene delivery, electrochemotherapy and irreversible electroporation. The very short time scale of the electric pulses is disadvantageous because it does not facilitate real time control over the procedure. We hypothesize that applying the electric pulses during the cryosurgical procedure in such a way that the electric field vector is parallel to the heat flux vector will have the effect of confining the electric fields to the frozen/cold region of tissue, thereby ablating the cells that survive freezing while facilitating controlled use of the PEF in the cold confined region. A finite element analysis of the electric field and heat conduction equations during simultaneous tissue treatment with cryosurgery and PEF (cryosurgery/PEF) was used to study the effect of tissue freezing on electric fields. The study yielded motivating results. Because of decreased electrical conductivity in the frozen/cooled tissue, it experienced temperature induced magnified electric fields in comparison to PEF delivered to the unfrozen tissue control. This suggests that freezing/cooling confines and magnifies the electric fields to those regions; a targeting capability unattainable in traditional PEF. This analysis shows how temperature induced magnified and focused PEFs could be used to ablate cells in the high subzero freezing region of a cryosurgical lesion.     

Dichroism of TMV in pulsed electric fields

The linear dichroism induced in a solution of electrically anisotropic molecules by a pulsed electric field has been studied. Equations have been obtained which express the dichroism as a function of dipole moment, excess polarizability, field strength, and the angle α between the dipole moment and the transition moment for the absorption band. These expressions have been related to the experimentally observed difference signal in such a way that when the dichroism is measured as a function of field strength the permanent moment, excess polarizability and angle a can be determined. Experiments have been carried out on tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), which is similar in its properties to the theoretical model. The polarizability anisotropy and rotary diffusion constant for the monomer and dimer of TMV have been obtained from these experiments. In addition to the molecular parameters mentioned above, the saturated electric dichroism of the virus was measured as a function of wave length and the presence of an n–π* transition in the tryptophan spectrum was indicated. Further experiments measuring dichroism as a function of pH demonstrated the general denaturation of the virus at high pH (10–11) but also the existence of a stable fraction which is not fragmented even at the high pH involved.     

Rhabdomyolysis due to pulsed electric fields

High-voltage electrical trauma frequently results in extensive and scattered destruction of skeletal muscle along the current path. The damage is commonly believed to be mediated by heating. Recent experimental and theoretical evidence suggests, however, that the rhabdomyolysis and secondary myoglobin release that occur also can result from electroporation, a purely nonthermal mechanism. Based on the results of a computer simulation of a typical high-voltage electric shock, we have postulated that electroporation contributes substantially to skeletal muscle damage and could be the primary mechanism of damage in some cases of electrical injury. In this study, we determined the threshold field strength and exposure duration required to produce rhabdomyolysis by the electroporation mechanism. The change in the electrical impedance of intact skeletal muscle tissue following the application of short-duration, high-intensity electric field pulses is used as an indicator of membrane damage. Our experiments show that a decrease in impedance magnitude occurs following electric field pulses that exceed threshold values of 60 V/cm magnitude and 1-ms duration. The field strength, pulse duration, and number of pulses are factors that determine the extent of damage. The effect does not depend on excitation-contraction coupling. Electron micrographs confirm structural defects created in the membranes by the applied electric field pulses, and these represent the first clear demonstration of rhabdomyolysis in intact muscle due to electroporation. These results provide compelling evidence in support of our postulate.     

Killing of microorganisms by pulsed electric fields

 Lethal effects of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on suspensions of various bacteria, yeast, and spores in buffer solutions and liquid foodstuffs were examined. Living-cell counts of vegetative cell types were reduced by PEF treatment by up to more than four orders of magnitude (>99.99%). On the other hand, endo- and ascospores were not inactivated or killed to any great extent. The killing of vegetative cell types depends on the electrical field strength of the pulses and on the treatment time (the product of the pulse number and the decay time constant of the pulses). For each cell type, a specific critical electric field strength (E _c) and a specific critical treatment time (t _c) were determined. Above these critical values, the fractions of surviving cells were reduced drastically. The “limits”E _c and t _c depend on the cell characteristics as well as on the type of medium in which the cells are suspended. Especially in acid media living-cell counts were sufficiently decreased at very low energy inputs. In addition to the inactivation of microorganisms, the effect of PEF on food components such as whey proteins, enzymes and vitamins, and on the taste of foodstuffs was studied. The degree of destruction of these food components by PEF was very low or negligible. Moreover, no significant deterioration of the taste of foodstuffs was detected after PEF treatment. Disintegration of cells by PEF treatment in order to harvest intracellular products was also studied. Yeast cells, suspended in buffer solution, were not disintegrated by electric pulses. Hence, PEF treatment is an excellent process for inactivation of microorganisms in acid and in thermosensive media, but not for complete disintegration of microbial cells. Receivced: 1 June 1995 / Received last revision: 13 September 1995 / Accepted: 20 September 1995     

Inactivation of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis by pulsed electric fields

The influence of treatment temperature and pulsed electric fields (PEF) on the viability of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis cells suspended in 0.1% (wt/vol) peptone water and in sterilized cow's milk was assessed by direct viable counts and by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). PEF treatment at 50 degrees C (2,500 pulses at 30 kV/cm) reduced the level of viable M. paratuberculosis cells by approximately 5.3 and 5.9 log(10) CFU/ml in 0.1% peptone water and in cow's milk, respectively, while PEF treatment of M. paratuberculosis at lower temperatures resulted in less lethality. Heating alone at 50 degrees C for 25 min or at 72 degrees C for 25 s (extended high-temperature, short-time pasteurization) resulted in reductions of M. paratuberculosis of approximately 0.01 and 2.4 log(10) CFU/ml, respectively. TEM studies revealed that exposure to PEF treatment resulted in substantial damage at the cellular level to M. paratuberculosis.     

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields cause melanomas to self-destruct

We have discovered a new, drug-free therapy for treating solid skin tumors. Pulsed electric fields greater than 20 kV/cm with rise times of 30 ns and durations of 300 ns penetrate into the interior of tumor cells and cause tumor cell nuclei to rapidly shrink and tumor blood flow to stop. Melanomas shrink by 90% within two weeks following a cumulative field exposure time of 120 micros. A second treatment at this time can result in complete remission. This new technique provides a highly localized targeting of tumor cells with only minor effects on overlying skin. Each pulse deposits 0.2 J and 100 pulses increase the temperature of the treated region by only 3 degrees C, ten degrees lower than the minimum temperature for hyperthermia effects.     

Spinning response of yeast cells to rotating electric fields

The frequency-dependent rotation or spinning motion of yeast cells subjected to a fourpole rotating electric field was examined over a very wide frequency range (500 Hz to 500 MHz). In the lower frequency range (500 Hz – 700 KHz) the yeast cells were observed to spin in a direction counter to the applied field, with a small peak at about 600 Hz and a more pronounced one at 20 KHz. For frequencies above 700 KHz the spinning of the cells switched direction from counter-field to co-field, with a maximum in the rotation rate at about 70 MHz and a subpeak at 20 MHz. The rate was also observed to exhibit a square dependence on the magnitude of the applied rotating field.     

Permeabilization of tumor cells induced by pulsed electric fields in vitro

The permeabilization of tumor cells in vitro under the action of pulsed electric fields with a duration of 6 mks in the range of amplitudes 1-7 kV/cm was studied. In the mode of excitation in the ambience of localized plasma discharge in a chamber of special design, an enhanced damage to cells in suspension was observed. It is assumed that the enhancement is due to the synchronous action of the electric field and acoustic shock wave pulses. In the mode without the plasma breakdown of ambience, when the pulse duration of electric field of intensity of 1-2 kV/cm was increased to 60 mks, the efficiency of permeabilization increases nearly by one order. The experimental results are compared with the known theoretical models of cell membrane electroporation.     

Orientation of DNA molecules in agarose gels by pulsed electric fields

The electric birefringence of DNA restriction fragments of three different sizes, 622, 1426, and 2936 base pairs, imbedded in agarose gels of different concentrations, was measured. The birefringence relaxation times observed in the gels are equal to the values observed in free solution, if the median pore diameter of the gel is larger than the effective hydrodynamic length of the DNA molecule in solution. However, if the median pore diameter is smaller than the apparent hydrodynamic length, the birefringence relaxation times increase markedly, becoming equal to the values expected for the birefringence relaxation of fully stretched DNA molecules. This apparent elongation indicates that end-on migration, or reptation is a likely mechanism for the electrophoresis of large DNA molecules in agarose gels. The relaxation times of the stretched DNA molecules scale with molecular weight (or contour length) as N2.8, in reasonable agreement with reptation theories.     

Membrane potential perturbations induced in tissue cells by pulsed electric fields

Pulsed electric fields directly influence the electrophysiology of tissue cells by transiently perturbing their transmembrane potential. To determine the magnitude and time course of this interaction, electrotonic cable theory was used to calculate the membrane potential perturbations induced in tissue cells by a spatially uniform, pulsed electric field. Analytic solutions were obtained that predict shifts in membrane potential along the length of cells as a function of time in response to an electrical pulse. For elongated tissue cells, or groups of tissue cells that are coupled electrotonically by gap junctions, significant hyperpolarizations and depolarizations can result from millisecond applications of electric fields with strengths on the order of 10–100 mV/cm. The results illustrate the importance of considering cellular cable parameters in assessing the effects of transient electric fields on biological systems, as well as in predicting the efficacy of pulsed electric fields in medical treatments. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Effects of pulsed electric fields on mouse spleen lymphocytes in vitro

The effects of pulsed electric fields on cell membranes were investigated. In vitro exposure of mouse splenocytes to a single high-voltage pulse resulted in an increase in membrane permeability that was dependent on both the electric field strength and the pulse duration. Exposure to a 2 μs, 3.0 kV/cm pulse resulted in the induction of a 1.26 V transmembrane potential, and elicited a 50% loss of intracellular K⁺. These results are in agreement with previous studies of the effects of pulsed electric fields on erythrocytes and microorganisms. The effect of pulsed electric fields on the functional integrity of lymphocytes was i vestigated by measuring [³H]thymidine incorporation by cells cultured in the presence and absence of various mitogens following exposure to an electrical pulse. No statistically significant effects on the response of mouse spleen lymphocytes to concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin or lipopolysaccharide were observed following exposure to 2 μs electric pulses at amplitudes of up to 3.5 kV/cm. Exposure to a single 10 μs pulse of 2.4–3.5 kV/cm produced a statistically significant reduction in the response of lymphocytes to lipopolysaccharide stimulation that was attributed to cell death.     

Activation of the JNK pathway by nanosecond pulsed electric fields

12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate-induced sequence 7/interferon related development regulator 1 (Tis7/IFRD1) has been recently identified as a modifier gene in lung inflammatory disease severity in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), based upon its capacity to regulate inflammatory activities in neutrophils. In CF patients, the F508del mutation in the Cftr gene encoding a chloride channel, the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in airway epithelial cells results in an exaggerated inflammatory response of these cells. At present, it is unknown whether the Tis7/IFRD1 gene product is expressed in airway epithelial cells. We therefore investigated the possibility there is an intrinsic alteration in Tis7/IFRD1 protein level in cells lacking CFTR function in tracheal homogenates of F508del-CFTR mice and in a F508del-CFTR human bronchial epithelial cell line (CFBE41o⁻ cells). When Tis7/IFRD1 protein was detectable, trachea from F508del-CFTR mice showed a reduction in the level of Tis7/IFRD1 protein compared to wild-type control littermates. A significant reduction of IFRD1 protein level was found in CFBE41o⁻ cells compared to normal bronchial epithelial cells 16HBE14o⁻. Surprisingly, messenger RNA level of IFRD1 in CFBE41o⁻ cells was found elevated. Treating CFBE41o⁻ cells with the antioxidant glutathione rescued the IFRD1 protein level closer to control level and also reduced the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 release. This work provides evidence for the first time of reduced level of IFRD1 protein in murine and human F508del-CFTR airway epithelial cell models, possibly mediated in response to oxidative stress which might contribute to the exaggerated inflammatory airway response observed in CF patients homozygous for the F508del mutation.     

Regulation of intracellular calcium concentration by nanosecond pulsed electric fields

Changes in [Ca²⁺]_i response of individual Jurkat cells to nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) of 60 ns and field strengths of 25, 50, and 100 kV/cm were investigated. The magnitude of the nsPEF-induced rise in [Ca²⁺]_i was dependent on the electric field strength. With 25 and 50 kV/cm, the [Ca²⁺]_i response was due to the release of Ca²⁺ from intracellular stores and occurred in less than 18 ms. With 100 kV/cm, the increase in [Ca²⁺]_i was due to both internal release and to influx across the plasma membrane. Spontaneous changes in [Ca²⁺]_i exhibited a more gradual increase over several seconds. The initial, pulse-induced [Ca²⁺]_i response initiates at the poles of the cell with respect to electrode placement and co-localizes with the endoplasmic reticulum. The results suggest that nsPEFs target both the plasma membrane and subcellular membranes and that one of the mechanisms for Ca²⁺ release may be due to nanopore formation in the endoplasmic reticulum.     

Effects of pulsed electric fields on DNA of human lymphocytes

The effects of pulsed electric fields of low frequency (50 Hz) on DNA of human lymphocytes were investigated. The influence of additional external factors, such as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and γ-irradiation, as well as the repair efficiency in these lymphocytes, was also evaluated. The comet assay, a very sensitive and rapid method for detecting DNA damage at the single cells level was the method used. A significant amount of damage was observed after exposure to the electric fields, compared to the controls. After 2 h incubation at 37^°C, a proportion of damage was repaired. H₂O₂ and γ-irradiation increased the damage to lymphocytes exposed to pulsed electric fields according to the dose used, while the amount of the repair was proportional to the damage.     

Activation of the JNK pathway by nanosecond pulsed electric fields

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) are increasingly recognized as a novel and unique tool in various life science fields, including electroporation and cancer therapy, although their mode of action in cells remains largely unclear. Here, we show that nsPEFs induce strong and transient activation of a signaling pathway involving c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Application of nsPEFs to HeLa S3 cells rapidly induced phosphorylation of JNK1 and MKK4, which is located immediately upstream of JNK in this signaling pathway. nsPEF application also elicited increased phosphorylation of c-Jun protein and dramatically elevated c-jun and c-fos mRNA levels. nsPEF-inducible events downstream of JNK were markedly suppressed by the JNK inhibitor SP600125, which confirmed JNK-dependency of these events in this pathway. Our results provide novel mechanistic insights into the mode of nsPEF action in human cells.     

Effect of pulsed electric fields upon accumulation of zinc in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were treated with pulsed electric fields to improve accumulation of zinc in the biomass. Under optimized conditions, that is, on 15 min exposure of the 20 h grown culture to PEFs of 1500 V and 10 microns pulse width, accumulation of zinc in the yeast biomass reached a maximum of 15.57 mg/g d.m. Under optimum zinc concentration (100 microgram/ml nutrient medium), its accumulation in the cells was higher by 63% in comparison with the control (without PEFs). That accumulation significantly correlated against zinc concentration in the medium. Neither multiple exposure of the cultures to PEFs nor intermittent supplementation of the cultures with zinc increased the zinc accumulation. The intermittent supplementation of the cultures with zinc and multiple exposures on PEFs could even reduce the accumulation efficiency, respectively, by 57% and 47%.     

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields have differential effects on cells in the S-phase

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) are a type of nonthermal, nonionizing radiation that exhibit intense electric fields with high power, but low energy. NsPEFs extend conventional electroporation (EP) to affect intracellular structures and functions and depending on the intensity, can induce lethal and nonlethal cell signaling. In this study, HCT116 human colon carcinoma cells were synchronized to the S-phase or remained unsynchronized, exposed to electric fields of 60 kV/cm with either 60-ns or 300-ns durations, and analyzed for apoptosis and proliferative markers. Several nsPEF structural and functional targets were identified. Unlike unsynchronized cells, S-phase cells under limiting conditions exhibited greater membrane integrity and caspase activation and maintained cytoskeletal structure. Regardless of synchronization, cells exposed to nsPEFs under these conditions primarily survived, but exhibited some turnover and delayed proliferation in cell populations, as well as reversible increases in phosphatidylserine externalization, membrane integrity, and nuclei size. These results show that nsPEFs can act as a nonligand agonist to modulate plasma membrane (PM) and intracellular structures and functions, as well as differentially affect cells in the S-phase, but without effect on cell survival. Furthermore, nsPEF effects on the nucleus and cytoskeleton may provide synergistic therapeutic actions with other agents, such as ionizing radiation or chemotherapeutics that affect these same structures.     

Migration of cell surface concanavalin A receptors in pulsed electric fields.

Concanavalin A (con A) receptors on the surface of cultured Xenopus myoblasts redistributed in response to monopolar, pulsed electric fields. The prefield uniform distribution of the receptors became asymmetrical, and was polarized toward the cathodal pole, in the same way as in DC fields. The extent of asymmetry depended on the duration of field exposure, pulse width (or alternatively, interpulse interval), frequency, and intensity. This relationship was most conveniently expressed by using duty cycle, a quantity determined by both pulse width and frequency. Pulses of average intensity 1.5 V/cm induced detectable asymmetry within 5 min. At the lowest average field intensity used, 0.8 V/cm, significant asymmetry was detected at 150 min. For pulses of high duty cycle (greater than 25%), steady state was reached after 30 min exposure and the steady state asymmetry was dependent on average field intensity. For low duty cycle fields, the time required to reach steady state was prolonged (greater than 50 min). Before reaching a steady state, effectiveness of the pulses, as compared with DC fields of equivalent intensity, was a function of duty cycle. A low duty cycle field (fixed number of pulses at low frequency or long interpulse interval) was less effective than high duty cycle fields or DC.