Actin networks regulate the cell membrane permeability during electroporation

Muralidharan, A.; Rems, Lea; Kreutzer, M.T.; Boukany, P.

doi:10.1016/j.bbamem.2020.183468

Actin networks regulate the cell membrane permeability during electroporation

Title

Actin networks regulate the cell membrane permeability during electroporation

Author

Muralidharan, A. (TU Delft ChemE/Product and Process Engineering)
Rems, Lea (KTH Royal Institute of Technology; University of Ljubljana)
Kreutzer, M.T. (TU Delft ChemE/Afdelingsbureau)
Boukany, P. (TU Delft ChemE/Product and Process Engineering)

Date

2021

Abstract

Transient physical disruption of cell membranes by electric pulses (or electroporation) has significance in biomedical and biological applications requiring the delivery of exogenous (bio)molecules to living cells. We demonstrate that actin networks regulate the cell membrane permeability during electroporation. Disruption of actin networks increases the uptake of membrane-impermeable molecules such as propidium iodide during electroporation. Our experiments at different temperatures ranging from 11 °C to 37 °C show that molecular uptake during electroporation increases with temperature. Furthermore, by examining the temperature-dependent kinetics of propidium iodide uptake, we infer that the activation energy barrier of electroporation is lowered when the actin networks are disrupted. Our numerical calculations of transmembrane voltage show that the reduced activation energy barrier for the cells with disrupted actin is not a consequence of the changes in transmembrane voltage associated with changes in the cell shape due to the disruption of actin, indicating that this could be due to changes in membrane mechanical properties. Our results suggest that the current theoretical models of electroporation should be advanced further by including the contributions of the cytoskeletal networks on the cell membrane permeability during the delivery of exogenous materials.

Subject

Electroporation
Electropermeabilization
Actin networks
Energy barrier
Temperature dependent kinetics of electroporation

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http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:75f4997b-e410-449c-9d60-6bb5f3378b7d

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamem.2020.183468

ISSN

0005-2736

Source

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Biomembranes, 1863 (1), 183468

Part of collection

Institutional Repository