The Activity of Native Vacuolar Proton-ATPase in an Oscillating Electric Field - Demystifying an Apparent Effect of Music on a Biomolecule.

Pál Petrovszki,Krisztina Sebők-Nagy,Tibor Páli

doi:10.3389/fmolb.2021.772167

Pál Petrovszki, Krisztina Sebők-Nagy + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2021.772167

Copy DOI

Abstract

The effect of an oscillating electric field generated from music on yeast vacuolar proton-ATPase (V-ATPase) activity in its native environment is reported. An oscillating electric field is generated by electrodes that are immersed into a dispersion of yeast vacuolar membrane vesicles natively hosting a high concentration of active V-ATPase. The substantial difference in the ATP hydrolysing activity of V-ATPase under the most stimulating and inhibiting music is unprecedented. Since the topic, i.e., an effect of music on biomolecules, is very attractive for non-scientific, esoteric mystification, we provide a rational explanation for the observed new phenomenon. Good correlation is found between changes in the specific activity of the enzyme and the combined intensity of certain frequency bands of the Fourier spectra of the music clips. Most prominent identified frequencies are harmonically related to each other and to the estimated rotation rate of the enzyme. These results lead to the conclusion that the oscillating electric field interferes with periodic trans-membrane charge motions in the working enzyme.

Highlights

Beyond the obvious emotional effects, the psychological, physiological, and neurobiological effects of music on humans are well studied (Koelsch et al, 2016; Salimpoor et al, 2011; Xing et al, 2016; Ooishi et al, 2017)
The substrate was in excess, and in these samples the difference in optical density (OD) is proportional to the concentration of ATP hydrolysed by V-ATPase in 10 min, that is to the specific V-ATPase activity (SA), as we have shown earlier (Ferencz et al, 2013; Ferencz et al, 2017)
It has been hypothesised long ago that membrane ATPases could be affected or even regulated by oscillations of the membrane potential even in living cells depending on the frequency spectrum of those oscillations (Astumian, 1993)

Summary

Introduction

Beyond the obvious emotional effects, the psychological, physiological, and neurobiological effects of music on humans are well studied (Koelsch et al, 2016; Salimpoor et al, 2011; Xing et al, 2016; Ooishi et al, 2017). There is a long-standing interest in the effect of music on non-conscious living matter. In most studies on organisms or biomolecules they are subjected to “listening” music from the air, and the observed effects are typically small and indirect (Wang et al, 2002; Zhao et al, 2002; Lestard et al, 2013; Oikkonen et al, 2016; Zhang et al, 2018). Our first objective is to search for a biochemical effect of a time-dependent physical quantity (other than pressure) derived from music. In a unique approach we convert music to alternating current and that to oscillating electric field (shortly AC field) and measure how the activity of an enzyme changes under the effect of that field. Yeast vacuolar proton-pumping adenosine-triphosphate (ATP) hydrolase (V-ATPase) is an optimal choice because it plays crucial roles in many life processes (Forgac, 2007; Vavassori and Mayer, 2014; Cotter et al, 2015; Sun-Wada and Wada, 2015) and it exhibits ATP rotary mechanism that involves periodic charge movements (Forgac, 2007; Ferencz et al, 2013; Cotter et al, 2015; Mazhab-Jafari et al, 2016; Ferencz et al, 2017)

Methods

Results

Conclusion