The electrical properties of isolated microtubules

" Herein, we explored the ability of single MTs to generate electrical signals by the voltage clamp technique. Isolated MTs generated electrical oscillations at holding potentials different from zero mV. Spontaneous changes in amplitude were observed in response to both the magnitude and polarity of the electrical driving force. The spectral analysis of the time records disclosed fundamental frequencies with prominent peaks between 43 and 47 Hz and around 90 Hz. Interestingly, we observed functional differences in the Paclitaxel-stabilized MTs. Paclitaxel stabilization locked the electric oscillatory behavior into a fundamental frequency of approximately 39 Hz. The electrical oscillatory information produced by MTs may be central to the function of neuron behavior." {Credits 1}

" We observed that the oscillatory behavior of the isolated MTs was different from that of MT sheets present in the same preparation. In particular, we consistently observed a broader spectrum of fundamental frequencies in the isolated non-stabilized MTs compared to the MT sheets. Paclitaxel-stabilized MTs sustained electrical oscillations with a more restrictive power spectrum than the non-stabilized MTs, showing a single fundamental frequency around 39 Hz, similar to that observed in the more structured MT complexes (i.e., bundles and sheets). This finding raises the hypothesis that assembling MTs into higher structures (e.g., cilia and flagella) may tend to entrain MT oscillations. Different oscillatory modes have been postulated for other MT structures [7,8]." {Credits 1}

" The electrodynamic properties of the MTs may contribute to the electric fields measured in EEGs and other technical approaches to assess the vector fields generated by the brain's electrical activity. MT electrical oscillations in the neuronal environment may provide a novel means for electrical interactions between different cellular organelles or cytoskeletal structures, such as the actin cytoskeleton [16]. They may explain the existence and propagation of traveling waves recently ascribed to endogenous electric fields [18,19,20,22]." {Credits 1}

" Our findings indicate that the axoneme generates endogenous electrical oscillations different from those elicited by the cytoplasmic MTs, indicating that the primary cilium arranges its axonemal MTs to produce a frame of electrical oscillators that behave as an electrical antenna." {Credits 1}

" The memristive behavior unmasked by a voltage-dependent capacitance in non-oscillating MT sheets suggested that the electrical response has a complex voltage-dependent nonlinear response." {Credits 1}

{Credits 1} 🎪 Gutierrez, B.C., Cantiello, H.F. & Cantero, M. The electrical properties of isolated microtubules. Sci Rep 13, 10165 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36801-1. © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.