Directed Cell Movement in Pulsed Electric Fields

Abstract

Human granulocytes exposed to pulsed electric guiding fields were investigated. The trajectories were determined from digitized pictures (phase contrast). The basic results are: (i) No directed response was induced by pulsed electric guiding fields having a zero averaged field, (ii) A directed response was induced by pulsed electric guiding fields having a non-zero averaged field, (iii) The directed response was enhanced for pulse sequencies having a repetition time of 8 s. (iv) The lag-time between signal recognition and cellular response was 8 - 10 s. The results are discussed in the framework of a self-ignition model. © 1994, Walter de Gruyter. All rights reserved.