IMSATED   26825
INSTITUTO MULTIDISCIPLINARIO DE SALUD, TECNOLOGIA Y DESARROLLO
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Electrical Oscillations Generated by Different Structures of Brain Microtubules.
Autor/es:
CANTERO MR; GUTIERREZ BC; SCARINCI N; CANTIELLO HF; PEREZ PL; BONACINA J
Lugar:
Villarrica
Reunión:
Workshop; Emerging Concepts of the Neuronal Cytoskeleton - EMBO Workshop; 2019
Resumen:
Microtubules (MTs) are long cylindrical cytoskeletal structures that control cell division, intracellular transport, and the shape of cells. MTs also form different structures, such as sheets and bundles that are particularly prominent in neurons where they help define axons and dendrites. Although MTs have a large electrical dipole and are easily oriented in electric fields, their electrical properties have only recently been unmasked. MTs are bio-electrochemical transistors that form nonlinear electrical transmission lines. Here we present evidence that MT structures from different origins including, murine, bovine, and apian brains, spontaneously generate electrical oscillations and bursts of electrical activity similar to action potentials. Under intracellular-like conditions, voltage-clamped MT sheets and bundles displayed highly stable electrical oscillations that represented, in average, a 258% - 640% change in ionic conductance. These oscillations had fundamental frequencies in the range of 29 Hz to 39 Hz, and progressed through various periodic regimes. Interestingly, voltage-clamped membrane-permeabilized neurites of cultured mouse hippocampal neurons were also capable of both, the generation of electrical oscillations and the axial conduction of the electrical signals. Our findings are consistent with a functional model that includes both a gating mechanism and the conductive pathway of the oscillator. The encompassed data indicate that the electrical oscillations are an intrinsic property of MTs, which may have relevant implications in the control of neuronal functions, including the gating and regulation of excitable ion channels, which, in turn, may aid in the understanding of higher brain functions such as memory and consciousness.