Abstract
Intense (5-30 MV/m) ultra-short (10-300 ns) pulsed electric fields (US-PEFs) have been demonstrated to interact with sub-cellular membranes and structures [Schoenbach et al., IEEE Trans. Diel. El. Ins., 14 (5): 1088-1109, 2007]. Investigating how cells respond to nanosecond pulses is essential for a) development of biomedical applications of US-PEFs, including cancer treatment, and b) better understanding of the mechanisms underlying such bioelectrical effects. T-lymphoblast Jurkat cells were exposed to a single pulse of 60 ns duration and 2.5 MV/m amplitude, without affecting cell growth and viability, to give insight into effects underlying interaction mechanisms. A cuvette-based exposure system, fed by a classical Blumlein pulse-forming network, was employed. A statistically significant reduction in DNA migration was detected immediately after US-PEF exposure by means of the alkaline comet assay [Zeni et al., Sensors, 8: 485-496, 2008]. This effect, associated with plasma membrane poration (YO-PRO-1 uptake) has been demonstrated to recover within 2 hours after pulse delivery (Figure 1), indicating that our exposure protocol targets the nucleus, affecting DNA structure. In our experimental conditions, a transient conformational change in DNA molecule can thus be hypothesized.
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