Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28851923›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2017

Response to Alternating Electric Fields of Tubulin Dimers and Microtubule Ensembles in Electrolytic Solutions.

Iara B Santelices, Douglas E Friesen, Clayton Bell, Cameron M Hough, Jack Xiao, Aarat Kalra, Piyush Kar, Holly Freedman, Vahid Rezania, John D Lewis and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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  16. Physical energies to the rescue of damaged tissues.World journal of stem cells · 2019
    Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Iara B SantelicesDepartment of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada.
Douglas E FriesenDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1Z2, Canada.
Clayton BellDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1Z2, Canada.
Cameron M HoughDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1Z2, Canada.
Jack XiaoDepartment of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada.
Aarat KalraDepartment of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada.
Piyush KarDepartment of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada.
Holly FreedmanDepartment of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E1, Canada.
Vahid RezaniaDepartment of Physical Sciences, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 4S2, Canada.
John D LewisDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1Z2, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-7734-1204
Karthik ShankarDepartment of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada. kshankar@ualberta.ca.ORCID 0000-0001-7347-3333
Jack A TuszynskiDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1Z2, Canada. jackt@ualberta.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Microtubules (MTs), which are cylindrical protein filaments that play crucial roles in eukaryotic cell functions, have been implicated in electrical signalling as biological nanowires. We report on the small-signal AC ("alternating current") conductance of electrolytic solutions containing MTs and tubulin dimers, using a microelectrode system. We find that MTs (212 nM tubulin) in a 20-fold diluted BRB80 electrolyte increase solution conductance by 23% at 100 kHz, and this effect is directly proportional to the concentration of MTs in solution. The frequency response of MT-containing electrolytes exhibits a concentration-independent peak in the conductance spectrum at 111 kHz (503 kHz FWHM that decreases linearly with MT concentration), which appears to be an intrinsic property of MT ensembles in aqueous environments. Conversely, tubulin dimers (42 nM) decrease solution conductance by 5% at 100 kHz under similar conditions. We attribute these effects primarily to changes in the mobility of ionic species due to counter-ion condensation effects, and changes in the solvent structure and solvation dynamics. These results provide insight into MTs' ability to modulate the conductance of aqueous electrolytes, which in turn, has significant implications for biological information processing, especially in neurons, and for intracellular electrical communication in general.

Identifiers

PMID28851923
PMCPMC5574899

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.