title: Bioelectrical Signals and Ion Channels in the Modeling of Multicellular Patterns and Cancer Biophysics.
abstract: Bioelectrical signals and ion channels are central to spatial patterns in cell ensembles, a problem of fundamental interest in positional information and cancer processes. We propose a model for electrically connected cells based on simple biological concepts: i) the membrane potential of a single cell characterizes its electrical state; ii) the long-range electrical coupling of the multicellular ensemble is realized by a network of gap junction channels between neighboring cells; and iii) the spatial distribution of an external biochemical agent can modify the conductances of the ion channels in a cell membrane and the multicellular electrical state. We focus on electrical effects in small multicellular ensembles, ignoring slow diffusional processes. The spatio-temporal patterns obtained for the local map of cell electric potentials illustrate the normalization of regions with abnormal cell electrical states. The effects of intercellular coupling and blocking of specific channels on the electrical patterns are described. These patterns can regulate the electrically-induced redistribution of charged nanoparticles over small regions of a model tissue. The inclusion of bioelectrical signals provides new insights for the modeling of cancer biophysics because collective multicellular states show electrical coupling mechanisms that are not readily deduced from biochemical descriptions at the individual cell level.
authors: Dept. de Termodinàmica, Facultat de Física, Universitat de València, E-46100 Burjassot, Spain.
authors: Javier
authors: J
authors: Cervera
authors: Dept. de Física, Laboratori de Biofísica Molecular, Universitat "Jaume I", E-12080 Castelló, Spain.
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Alcaraz
authors: Dept. de Termodinàmica, Facultat de Física, Universitat de València, E-46100 Burjassot, Spain.
authors: Salvador
authors: S
authors: Mafe
mesh_terms: D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels