Membrane electroporation and direct gene transfer

The direct transfer of genetic material into cells by electroporation can be described in physicochemical terms as an electroporation-resealing hysteresis. The hysteresis concept includes unidirectional state transitions of the membrane, coupled to electrodiffusive migration of DNA through cell wall structures and electroporated plasma membranes. Deeper insight into electroporation phenomena such as electrotransfection, electrofusion and electro-insertion is gained by the inspection of the electrosensitivity and the recovery curves of cell populations as well as by the analysis of the pulse strength-duration relationship. A theoretical framework is developed for an adequate comparison of data obtained with different pulse shapes. The results of the physicochemical analysis of electroporation data not only indicate possible molecular mechanisms but are also instrumental in developing a goal-directed optimization strategy for the various practical applications of electroporation techniques such as electric gene delivery, production of hybridoma cells for antibody secretion or the insertion of immune proteins into the membranes of blood organelles.

[1]  W. Hamilton,et al.  Effects of high electric fields on micro-organisms. 3. Lysis of erythrocytes and protoplasts. , 1968, Biochimica et biophysica acta.

[2]  U. Zimmermann,et al.  Transcellular ion flow in Escherichia coli B and electrical sizing of bacterias. , 1973, Biophysical journal.

[3]  H. Fricke,et al.  The Electric Permittivity of a Dilute Suspension of Membrane‐Covered Ellipsoids , 1953 .

[4]  E. Neumann,et al.  Gene transfer into mouse lyoma cells by electroporation in high electric fields. , 1982, The EMBO journal.

[5]  U. Zimmermann,et al.  Enzyme loading of electrically homogeneous human red blood cell ghosts prepared by dielelctric breakdown. , 1976, Biochimica et biophysica acta.

[6]  T. Tsong,et al.  Study of mechanisms of electric field-induced DNA transfection. I. DNA entry by surface binding and diffusion through membrane pores. , 1990, Biophysical journal.

[7]  E Neumann,et al.  Electric field mediated gene transfer. , 1982, Biochemical and biophysical research communications.

[8]  U. Zimmermann,et al.  High frequency fusion of plant protoplasts by electric fields , 2004, Planta.

[9]  Shunnosuke Abe,et al.  Induction of cell fusion of plant protoplasts by electrical stimulation , 1979 .

[10]  E. Neumann,et al.  Electroporation and Electrofusion in Cell Biology , 1989, Springer US.

[11]  M. R. Tarasevich,et al.  246 - Electric breakdown of bilayer lipid membranes I. The main experimental facts and their qualitative discussion , 1979 .

[12]  W. J. Dower,et al.  High efficiency transformation of E. coli by high voltage electroporation , 1988, Nucleic Acids Res..

[13]  J. Teissié,et al.  Electric pulse-induced fusion of 3T3 cells in monolayer culture. , 1982, Science.

[14]  G. Stewart,et al.  Current developments in yeast research : advances in biotechnology , 1981 .

[15]  D. Chang,et al.  Guide to Electroporation and Electrofusion , 1991 .

[16]  P. Usherwood,et al.  Charge and Field Effects in Biosystems―2 , 1990 .

[17]  G. Stewart,et al.  Current developments in yeast research , 1981 .

[18]  The electroporation hysteresis , 1988 .

[19]  T. Reese,et al.  Changes in membrane structure induced by electroporation as revealed by rapid-freezing electron microscopy. , 1990, Biophysical journal.

[20]  Yasuyuki Yamada,et al.  A novel method for transformation of intact yeast cells by electroinjection of plasmid DNA , 1985, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[21]  B. R. Jennings,et al.  Infrared electrooptic scattering from bacterial suspensions , 1975 .

[22]  C. Nicolau,et al.  Electro-insertion of xeno-glycophorin into the red blood cell membrane. , 1989, Biochemical and biophysical research communications.