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Electro-Acoustic Behavior of the Mitotic Spindle: A Semi-Classical Coarse-Grained Model

SYSNO ASEP	0428315
Document Type	J - Journal Article
R&D Document Type	Journal Article
Subsidiary J	Článek ve WOS
Title	Electro-Acoustic Behavior of the Mitotic Spindle: A Semi-Classical Coarse-Grained Model
Author(s)	Havelka, Daniel (URE-Y)_RID Kučera, Ondřej (URE-Y)_RID Deriu, M.A. (CH) Cifra, Michal (URE-Y)_{RID, ORCID, SAI}
Number of authors	4
Source Title	PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science - ISSN 1932-6203 Roč. 9, č. 1 (2014), e86501
Number of pages	13 s.
Publication form	Online - E
Language	eng - English
Country	US - United States
Keywords	electric fields ; tubulin ; chromosomes
Subject RIV	JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering
R&D Projects	GAP102/11/0649 GA ČR - Czech Science Foundation (CSF)
Institutional support	URE-Y - RVO:67985882
UT WOS	000330617100018
DOI	10.1371/journal.pone.0086501
Annotation	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
Workplace	Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics
Contact	Petr Vacek, vacek@ufe.cz, Tel.: 266 773 413, 266 773 438, 266 773 488
Year of Publishing	2015

Number of the records: 1