The electrical properties of isolated microtubules

This study examines the electrical properties of isolated brain microtubules (MTs), which are long hollow cylinders assembled from αβ-tubulin dimers that form cytoskeletal structures engaged in several functions. MTs are implicated in sensory functions in cilia and flagella and cellular activities t...

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Autores principales: Gutierrez, Brenda C., Cantiello, Horacio F., Cantero, María del Rocío
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group UK 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10287629/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37349383
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36801-1
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author Gutierrez, Brenda C.
Cantiello, Horacio F.
Cantero, María del Rocío
author_facet Gutierrez, Brenda C.
Cantiello, Horacio F.
Cantero, María del Rocío
author_sort Gutierrez, Brenda C.
collection PubMed
description This study examines the electrical properties of isolated brain microtubules (MTs), which are long hollow cylinders assembled from αβ-tubulin dimers that form cytoskeletal structures engaged in several functions. MTs are implicated in sensory functions in cilia and flagella and cellular activities that range from cell motility, vesicular traffic, and neuronal processes to cell division in the centrosomes and centrioles. We determined the electrical properties of the MTs with the loose patch clamp technique in either the presence or absence of the MT stabilizer Paclitaxel. We observed electrical oscillations at different holding potentials that responded accordingly in amplitude and polarity. At zero mV in symmetrical ionic conditions, a single MT radiated an electrical power of 10(–17) W. The spectral analysis of the time records disclosed a single fundamental peak at 39 Hz in the Paclitaxel-stabilized MTs. However, a richer oscillatory response and two mean conductances were observed in the non-Paclitaxel MTs. The findings evidence that the brain MTs are electrical oscillators that behave as "ionic-based" transistors to generate, propagate, and amplify electrical signals.
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spelling pubmed-102876292023-06-24 The electrical properties of isolated microtubules Gutierrez, Brenda C. Cantiello, Horacio F. Cantero, María del Rocío Sci Rep Article This study examines the electrical properties of isolated brain microtubules (MTs), which are long hollow cylinders assembled from αβ-tubulin dimers that form cytoskeletal structures engaged in several functions. MTs are implicated in sensory functions in cilia and flagella and cellular activities that range from cell motility, vesicular traffic, and neuronal processes to cell division in the centrosomes and centrioles. We determined the electrical properties of the MTs with the loose patch clamp technique in either the presence or absence of the MT stabilizer Paclitaxel. We observed electrical oscillations at different holding potentials that responded accordingly in amplitude and polarity. At zero mV in symmetrical ionic conditions, a single MT radiated an electrical power of 10(–17) W. The spectral analysis of the time records disclosed a single fundamental peak at 39 Hz in the Paclitaxel-stabilized MTs. However, a richer oscillatory response and two mean conductances were observed in the non-Paclitaxel MTs. The findings evidence that the brain MTs are electrical oscillators that behave as "ionic-based" transistors to generate, propagate, and amplify electrical signals. Nature Publishing Group UK 2023-06-22 /pmc/articles/PMC10287629/ /pubmed/37349383 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36801-1 Text en © The Author(s) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Article
Gutierrez, Brenda C.
Cantiello, Horacio F.
Cantero, María del Rocío
The electrical properties of isolated microtubules
title The electrical properties of isolated microtubules
title_full The electrical properties of isolated microtubules
title_fullStr The electrical properties of isolated microtubules
title_full_unstemmed The electrical properties of isolated microtubules
title_short The electrical properties of isolated microtubules
title_sort electrical properties of isolated microtubules
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10287629/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37349383
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36801-1
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