Electrotaxis

Electrotaxis, also known as galvanotaxis, is the directed motion of biological cells or organisms guided by an electric field or current.[1] A wide variety of biological cells can naturally sense and follow DC electric fields. Such electric fields arise naturally in biological tissues during development and healing.[2][3]

History

In 1889, German physiologist Max Verworn applied a low-level direct current to a mixture of bacterial species and observed that some moved toward the anode and others moved to the cathode.[4] Just two years later, in 1891, Belgian microscopist E. Dineur made the first known report of vertebrate cells migrating directionally in a direct current, a phenomenon which he coined galvanotaxis.[5] Dineur used a zinc-copper cell to apply a constant current to the abdominal cavity of a frog via a pair of platinum electrodes. He found that inflammatory leukocytes aggregated at the negative electrode. Since these pioneering studies, a variety of different cell types and organisms have been shown to respond to electric fields.[6]

See also

References
  1. Cortese, Barbara; Palamà, Ilaria; D'Amone, Stefania; Gigli, Giuseppe (2014). "Influence of electrotaxis on cell behaviour". Integrative Biology. 6 (9): 817–830. doi:10.1039/c4ib00142g. PMID 25058796.
  2. Jaffe, Lionel; Vanable Jr., Joseph (1984). "Electric fields and wound healing". Clinics in Dermatology. 2 (3): 34–44. doi:10.1016/0738-081X(84)90025-7. PMID 6336255.
  3. Nuccitelli, Richard (2003). "A role for endogenous electric fields in wound healing". Current Topics in Developmental Biology. 58 (2): 1–24.
  4. Verworn, Max (1889). "Die polare Erregung der Protisten durch den galvanischen Strom". Archiv für die gesamte Physiologie des Menschen und der Tiere. 45 (1): 1–36.
  5. Dineur, E (1891). "Note sur la sensibilite des leucocytes a l'electricite". Bull. Seances Soc. Belge Microscpie. 18: 113–118.
  6. McCaig, Colin; Rajnicek, Ann; Song, Bing; Zhao, Min (2005). "Controlling Cell Behavior Electrically: Current Views and Future Potential". Physiological Reviews. 85 (3): 943–978. doi:10.1152/physrev.00020.2004. PMID 15987799.

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