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ELECTROPORATION OF THE CELL MEMBRANE
An
exposure of a cell to an electric field of an adequate strength and
duration leads to a transient increase of cell membrane
permeability. This phenomenon, termed electroporation
or electropermeabilization,
allows various otherwise nonpermeant molecules to cross the membrane
and enter the cell. Both in vitro and in vivo,
reversible electroporation allows for internalization of a wide
range of substances, including chemotherapeutics and DNA. A
combination of electroporation and a chemotherapeutic drug
(electrochemotherapy) leads to a significant increase of the
antitumor effect of the drug. Electroporation also provides a
reliable nonviral method of DNA internalization (electrogene
transfection), characterized by a stable gene expression in vivo,
and thereby representing a safer alternative to viral vectors.
In our laboratory we are
also investigating the role of experimental conditions, particularly
the parameters of electric pulses, on the efficiency of
electroporation. We are studying this through experiments, as well
as through theoretical modeling of electroporation and transport
through the electroporated membrane.
Bibliography:
- Macek-Lebar A, Kopitar NA, Ihan A, Sersa G, Miklavcic D.
Significance of treatment energy in cell electropermeabilization.
Electro. Magnetobiol. 17: 255-262, 1998. [PDF
 ]
- Pucihar G, Kotnik T, Kanduser M, Miklavcic D. The influence
of medium conductivity on electropermeabilization and survival of
cells in vitro. Bioelectrochemistry 54: 107-115, 2001. [PDF
 ]
- Pucihar G, Mir LM, Miklavcic D. The effect of pulse
repetition frequency on the uptake into electropermeabilized cells
in vitro with possible applications in electrochemotherapy.
Bioelectrochemistry 57: 167-172, 2002. [PDF]
- Kotnik T, Pucihar G, Rebersek M, Mir LM, Miklavcic D. Role of
pulse shape in cell membrane electropermeabilization. Biochim.
Biophys. Acta 1614: 193-200, 2003. [PDF]
- Puc M, Kotnik T, Mir LM, Miklavcic D. Quantitative model of
small molecules uptake after in vitro cell
electropermeabilization. Bioelectrochemistry 60: 1-10,
2003. [PDF]
-
Miklavcic D, Kotnik T. Electroporation for electrochemotherapy and gene therapy.
In Rosch PJ, Markov MS, Bioelectromagnetic Medicine,
Marcel Dekker, New York, 2004, pp. 637-656. [PDF]
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