Chemical modulation of the ultra-weak photon emission fromSaccharomyces cerevisiaeand differentiated HL-60 cells

Abstract

The ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) is a universal phenomenon common to all cells with active oxidative metabolism. Generally accepted mechanism of the origin of the ultra-weak photon emission considers reactions of radical or nonradical reactive oxygen species (ROS) with biomolecules such as lipids and proteins which lead to the formation of electron excited species. During the transition to the ground state the excess energy is released as a photon with a wavelength in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Since the intensity of the light is very low it is possible to be measured only by highly sensitive devices. We used Hamamatsu Photonics PMT module H7360-01 mounted into a light-tight chamber for the purposes of this work. The goal of our research is to delineate an origin of UPE from two model organisms; differentiated HL-60 cells (human promyelocytic leukemia) and yeast cells Saccharomyces cerevisiae. While the UPE from the yeast cells arises spontaneously during the growth without any external stimuli, UPE from HL-60 is induced by phorbol 12-myristate, 13-acetate (PMA). It is possible to modulate the UPE production by certain antioxidants which scavenge ROS formed during the metabolism (yeast cells) or respiratory burst (HL-60 cells). The experiments are focused on the description of effects caused by antioxidants. Several kinds of antioxidants (ascorbic acid, mannitol, glutathione) with different concentration were used and we studied the changes in the UPE intensities of and the temporal developments of the optical signal.