Membrane potential (Vmem) measurements during mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) proliferation and osteogenic differentiation

Background: Electrochemical signals play an important role in cell communication and behavior. Electrically charged ions transported across cell membranes maintain an electrochemical imbalance that gives rise to bioelectric signaling, called membrane potential or V-mem. V-mem plays a key role in numerous inter- and intracellular functions that regulate cell behaviors like proliferation, differentiation and migration, all playing a critical role in embryonic development, healing, and regeneration. Methods: With the goal of analyzing the changes in V-mem during cell proliferation and differentiation, here we used direct current electrical stimulation (EStim) to promote cell proliferation and differentiation and simultaneously tracked the corresponding changes in V-mem in adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (AT-MSC). Results: We found that EStim caused increased AT-MSC proliferation that corresponded to V-mem depolarization and increased osteogenic differentiation that corresponded to V-mem hyperpolarization. Taken together, this shows that V-mem changes associated with EStim induced cell proliferation and differentiation can be accurately tracked during these important cell functions. Using this tool to monitor V-mem changes associated with these important cell behaviors we hope to learn more about how these electrochemical cues regulate cell function with the ultimate goal of developing new EStim based treatments capable of controlling healing and regeneration.