Electrotaxis and Wound Healing: Experimental Methods to Study Electric Fields as a Directional Signal for Cell Migration
Electrotaxis and Wound Healing: Experimental Methods to Study Electric Fields as a Directional Signal for Cell Migration
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DOI：
10.1007/978-1-60761-198-1_5
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发表时间：
2009-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Zhao, Min
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Tai, Guangping;Reid, Brian;Zhao, Min
电场是在一个半世纪前对人类皮肤伤口进行测量的。现代技术已经证实并极大地扩展了我们对内生创伤电场存在的理解。在几乎所有被研究的伤口中，上皮层的破坏都会瞬间产生内生电场。由于电场具有向量性的固有特性，长期以来人们一直认为这些电场在创伤愈合过程中可能是引导细胞迁移的定向信号。我们已经建立了几个实验系统来研究电场对细胞迁移的引导作用和机制。大多数类型的细胞在一个小电场中定向迁移，这种现象被称为趋电/趋电。值得注意的是，与体内伤口检测到的电场强度相等的电场引导细胞迁移，并覆盖了其他一些广泛接受的共存指导信号，如接触抑制。因此，自然产生的内源性电场可能是调节体内细胞定向运动的重要信号机制。外加电场可能在创伤愈合过程中引导细胞迁移方面具有潜在的临床作用。电场的大小和方向可以比大多数其他指导线索(如化学线索)更精确和快速地改变。因此，电场的应用为研究细胞定向迁移提供了一个强大的实验系统，具有广泛的灵活性。我们简要回顾了研究背景，并描述了用于研究趋电性的实验系统。
Electric fields were measured at human skin wounds over one and half centuries ago. Modern techniques have verified and greatly extended our understanding of the existence of endogenous wound electric fields. In virtually all wounds studied, disruption of an epithelial layer instantaneously generates endogenous electric fields. As electric fields have the intrinsic property of being vectorial, it has long been proposed that these fields may serve as a directional signal guiding cell migration in wound healing. We have established several experimental systems to study the guidance effects and mechanisms of electric fields on cell migration. Most types of cells migrate directionally in a small electric field, a phenomenon called galvanotaxis/electrotaxis. Remarkably, electric fields of strength equal to those detected at in vivo wounds direct cell migration and override some other well-accepted coexistent guidance cues such as contact inhibition. The naturally occurring endogenous electric fields therefore may be an important signaling mechanism that regulates directional cell movement in vivo. Applied electric fields may have a potential clinical role in guiding cell migration in Wound healing. The magnitude and direction of the electric field can be more precisely and quickly changed than most other guidance cues such as chemical cues. Application of electric fields thus offers a robust experimental system for study of directional cell migration with extensive flexibility. We present a brief review of the background and describe the experimental system for studying electrotaxis.