Havelka Daniel, Kučera Ondřej, Deriu Marco A, Cifra Michal
Institute of Photonics and Electronics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czechia ; Department of Electromagnetic Field, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czechia.
Institute of Photonics and Electronics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czechia.
PLoS One. 2014 Jan 30;9(1):e86501. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086501. eCollection 2014.
The regulation of chromosome separation during mitosis is not fully understood yet. Microtubules forming mitotic spindles are targets of treatment strategies which are aimed at (i) the triggering of the apoptosis or (ii) the interruption of uncontrolled cell division. Despite these facts, only few physical models relating to the dynamics of mitotic spindles exist up to now. In this paper, we present the first electromechanical model which enables calculation of the electromagnetic field coupled to acoustic vibrations of the mitotic spindle. This electromagnetic field originates from the electrical polarity of microtubules which form the mitotic spindle. The model is based on the approximation of resonantly vibrating microtubules by a network of oscillating electric dipoles. Our computational results predict the existence of a rapidly changing electric field which is generated by either driven or endogenous vibrations of the mitotic spindle. For certain values of parameters, the intensity of the electric field and its gradient reach values which may exert a not-inconsiderable force on chromosomes which are aligned in the spindle midzone. Our model may describe possible mechanisms of the effects of ultra-short electrical and mechanical pulses on dividing cells--a strategy used in novel methods for cancer treatment.
有丝分裂过程中染色体分离的调控机制尚未完全明晰。构成有丝分裂纺锤体的微管是治疗策略的作用靶点，这些策略旨在（i）引发细胞凋亡或（ii）阻断失控的细胞分裂。尽管如此，目前关于有丝分裂纺锤体动力学的物理模型仍寥寥无几。在本文中，我们提出了首个机电模型，该模型能够计算与有丝分裂纺锤体的声振动耦合的电磁场。这种电磁场源自构成有丝分裂纺锤体的微管的电极性。该模型基于用振荡电偶极网络对共振振动微管进行的近似。我们的计算结果预测，有丝分裂纺锤体的驱动振动或内源性振动会产生快速变化的电场。对于某些参数值，电场强度及其梯度会达到可能对排列在纺锤体中区的染色体施加相当大作用力的值。我们的模型或许可以描述超短电脉冲和机械脉冲对分裂细胞产生影响的可能机制，这是一种用于癌症治疗新方法的策略。
