Selective cytotoxicity of intense nanosecond-duration electric pulses in mammalian cells

Background

Nanosecond electric pulses (EP) disrupt cell membrane and organelles and cause cell death in a manner different from the conventional irreversible electroporation. We explored the cytotoxic effect of 10-ns EP (quantitation, mechanisms, efficiency, and specificity) in comparison with 300-ns, 1.8- and 9-μs EP.

Methods

Effects in Jurkat and U937 cells were characterized by survival assays, DNA electrophoresis and flow cytometry.

Results

10-ns EP caused apoptotic or necrotic death within 2–20 h. Survival (S, %) followed the absorbed dose (D, J/g) as: S = αD^(−K), where coefficients K and α determined the slope and the “shoulder” of the survival curve. K was similar in all groups, whereas α was cell type- and pulse duration-dependent. Long pulses caused immediate propidium uptake and phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization, whereas 10-ns pulses caused PS externalization only.

Conclusions

1.8- and 9-μs EP cause cell death efficiently and indiscriminately (LD₅₀ 1–3 J/g in both cell lines); 10-ns EP are less efficient, but very selective (LD₅₀ 50–80 J/g for Jurkat and 400–500 J/g for U937); 300-ns EP show intermediate effects. Shorter EP open propidium-impermeable, small membrane pores (”nanopores”), triggering different cell death mechanisms.

General significance

Nanosecond EP can selectively target certain cells in medical applications like tumor ablation.     

Electroporation of abalone sperm enhances sperm-DNA association

The ability of sperm from the black-footed abalone Haliotis iris to take up foreign DNA in solution has been demonstrated. The efficiency of DNA uptake is related to the conditions of electroporation, including field strength (625 V cm⁻¹, 1000 V cm⁻¹), pulse length (18.6 ms, 27.4ms) and number of pulses (1, 2), and DNA concentration (20, 100 μg ml⁻¹). Sperm motility decreased with increased field strength and pulse number. At a field strength of 625 V cm⁻¹, neither the pulse length nor pulse number enhanced DNA uptake. A 40% enhancement in DNA uptake was observed when the sperm were shocked at 1000 V cm⁻¹ with two long pulses (27.4 ms each). Linear regression analysis revealed that pulse number ( p = 0.013) and field strength ( P =0.039) were the most important factors in sperm–DNA interaction. Higher DNA concentration enhanced sperm DNA uptake irrespective of field strength, pulse length and pulse number. The optimal electroporation conditions for DNA uptake were 1000 V cm', with two pulses of 27.4 ms each, and a DNA concentration of 100 μg ml⁻¹.     

Multifactorial experimental design for optimizing transformation: Electroporation of Streptococcus thermophilus

A multifactorial process was used to optimize transformation of Streptococcus thermophilus by electroporation. Simple experimental designs were applied to study three, four, or five factors in eight experiments. Four qualitative factors, growth and recovering media, and plasmid and bacterial strains, were studied empirically. Eight quantitative factors, including electrical, physiological, and chemical parameters, were studied by fractional factorial designs. Effects of individual parameters as well as interactions between them were investigated and optimized. Optimization was performed for one S. thermophilus strain, ST11, and proved to work for all other tested strains of the same species. Transformation efficiencies of 9 x 10(2) to 6 x 10(5) transformants per microgram DNA were achieved, depending on the strains and vectors used. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Stress responses in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). 8. Cis-elements and trans-acting factors for the quantitative expression of a bean chalcone synthase gene promoter in electroporated alfalfa protoplasts

A chimeric gene consisting of a bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) chalcone synthase (CHS) promoter fused to a bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene was strongly expressed, and further induced by fungal elicitor, when electroporated into alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) suspension cell protoplasts. Functional analysis of 5 deletions of the CHS promoter-CAT construct in these protoplasts indicated that the region between –326 and –130 contained both activator and silencer elements. Co-electroporation experiments confirmed that these cis-acting elements were binding sites for functionally active trans factors. In vitro DNase I footprinting revealed four potential binding sites for alfalfa suspension cell nuclear proteins between positions –326 and –130 of the CHS promoter. These sites mapped to regions shown to contain functional cis-acting elements on the basis of the deletion analysis. Three of these sites mapped to previously identified binding sites for bean nuclear proteins. Competition gel retardation analysis using oligonucleotide probes containing binding site sequences revealed sequence-specific binding of alfalfa nuclear proteins to an AT-rich element and a putative GT-1 factor consensus binding sequence. Our results define cis elements and their cognate trans factors functionally active in determining the quantitative expression of a defense response gene in a heterologous transient expression system.Abbreviations CAT chloramphenicol acetyltransferase - CHS chalcone synthase (EC 2.3.1.74) - PAL L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (EC 4.3.1.5)     

Expert System for Modeling and Simulating the Action of Electric and Electromagnetic Fields on Biological Membranes

The biological effects and applications in the developing technology involving electric and electromagnetic fields are as promising as they are diverse. Their effects, leading to remission in certain patients, can be obtained through electroporation, electrochemotherapy, electrotherapy, electroimmunotherapy, and gene electrotherapy. The main therapeutic uses of electromagnetic fields (EMF) are the introduction of chemical or organic substances into opportunely opened cells (electro-chimiotherapy) and the stimulation of specific elements of the immune system (electro-immunotherapy). Their benefits can be modeled by the use of expert systems, constructed to mimic human reasoning. As well as testing new therapies, such systems can analyze and synthesize existing data, and provide a new pedagogical device, and can be implemented on the Internet network. These techniques can be performed conjointly with other therapies like X-ray therapy, neutrotherapy and, in certain conditions, will optimize their effects. Some mathematical models, representing the electromagnetic field's action on cellular membranes, have been elaborated by means of the SADT method (a structured hierarchy modular method) and implanted into the expert system SEI4. This expert system simulates the immune system's behavior when facing electromagnetic fields, in the face of immunodeficient illness such as some cancers or AIDS.     

Inheritance of a co-transferred foreign gene in the progenies of transgenic rice plants

The integration pattern and the inheritance of exogenous DNA in transgenic rice plants were analysed. Plasmid pCH (4.8 kb), that contains chimaeric cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter-hygromycin phosphotransferase structural gene, and plasmid pGP400 (7.2 kb), possessing oat phytochrome promoter and structural gene of bacterial -glucuronidase, were co-transferred into protoplasts of rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants via electroporation. Primary transformants (T₀ generation) and their progenies (T₁, T₂ and T₃) were selected by hygromycin B. Southern blot analysis of inserted genes in transgenic rice plants suggests the integration of an intact hygromycin phosphotransferase gene and non-functional DNA fragments into host genome. Co-inheritance of the hygromycin phosphotransferase gene and -glucuronidase gene was also observed. There were no significant differences in terms of the morphology and size of seeds between untransformed and transgenic plants (T₃ generation).     

Advances in Pollen Mediated Genetic Transformation

植物遗传转化技术是植物科学基础理论与应用研究的有力武器,已成为植物遗传改良的重要途径之一。但是、目前遗传转化所采用的受体系统,大都需要体外培养和植株再生过程,才能获得转基因植株。其中、基因型限制和遗传变异是该技术不可逾越的两大障碍。花粉管通道法可省去转化体的离体培养,不过、多数植物受花器结构的限制而难以经花柱注射ＤＮＡ,只能向子房注射,并不是真正的“花粉管通道”。又由于此法外源基因的导入发生在授粉之后,因此该方法亦不属于花粉遗传转化。利用小孢子胚胎发生体系进行遗传转化与利用花粉作为外源ＤＮＡ的媒介,继而、通过授粉受精获得转基因种子,是目前花粉遗传转化的两个重要方面和活跃的研究方向。前者仍需要离体再生系统,后者则可以利用植物自身的再生机制,本文称之为花粉介导法（ｐｏｌｅｎ－ｍｅｄｉａｔｅｄｔｒａｎｓｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ）。该方法通过自然的胚胎发育过程获得转基因子代,避免了组织培养过程中的遗传变异和转基因植株的嵌合现象。可望成为简便快速的植物遗传转化体系。目前对花粉介导的遗传转化进行专门评述的文献较少,本文对该领域的研究分三个层次进行了综述。一、外源基因转化方法小孢子或由小孢子形成的胚状体是很有潜力的遗传转化受体     

电击法诱导的欧白英原生质体转化和转化植株再生

本研究使用电击法成功地将带有标记基因NPTⅡ的质粒pCaMVNEO转入欧白英的原生质体,并获得了再生转化植株。通过用pDW2质粒进行的CAT基因短暂表达研究,确定了欧白英原生质体转化的电击条件为：电容30nF、电场强度l 500V／cm、时间衰变常数59．4微秒;质粒DNA浓度为20μg／2×10⁶原生质体。在以上条件下,欧白英原生质体的相对转化率为12．4％,绝对转化率为2.4×10^-4在大多数抗性愈伤组织和从抗性愈伤组织再生的植株中检测到新霉素磷酸转移酶活性。分子杂交结果也证明了在转化植株中存在NPTⅡ基因序列,而未转化的对照植株则没有。