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(A) Photograph of Julius Bernstein at the time of his rectorship at the University of Halle (1890). With permission reproduced from (Seyfarth 2006). (B) Drawing of the first action potential in nerve. The negative variation was measured using the rheotome build by Bernstein. With permission reproduced from (Nilius 2003).
Source publication
The aim of this review was to provide an overview of the most important stages in the development of cellular electrophysiology. The period covered starts with Bernstein's formulation of the membrane hypothesis and the measurement of the nerve and muscle action potential. Technical innovations make discoveries possible. This was the case with the u...
Citations
... The relationship between Eqs. (1) and (15) is simplified where one ion is dominant. For example, in neurons (a cell type not used here, for reasons discussed in Sect. ...
Measurement of cellular resting membrane potential (RMP) is important in understanding ion channels and their role in regulation of cell function across a wide range of cell types. However, methods available for the measurement of RMP (including patch clamp, microelectrodes, and potential-sensitive fluorophores) are expensive, slow, open to operator bias, and often result in cell destruction. We present non-contact, label-free membrane potential estimation which uses dielectrophoresis to determine the cytoplasm conductivity slope as a function of medium conductivity. By comparing this to patch clamp data available in the literature, we have demonstratet the accuracy of this approach using seven different cell types, including primary suspension cells (red blood cells, platelets), cultured suspension cells (THP-1), primary adherent cells (chondrocytes, human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells), and adherent (HeLa) and suspension (Jurkat) cancer cell lines. Analysis of the effect of ion channel inhibitors suggests the effects of pharmaceutical agents (TEA on HeLa; DMSO and neuraminidase on red blood cells) can also be measured. Comparison with published values of membrane potential suggest that the differences between our estimates and values recorded by patch clamp are accurate to within published margins of error. The method is low-cost, non-destructive, operator-independent and label-free, and has previously been shown to allow cells to be recovered after measurement.
... Electrophysiological patch-clamp recording is a powerful technique (Carmeliet, 2019;Verkhratsky & Parpura, 2014) used in neuroscience and cell biology to study the activity of individual cells or the signal communication between neurons, providing valuable insights into ion channel functions, synaptic transmission, and cell signaling processes in various physiological and pathological conditions. By analyzing individual cells' electrical properties, researchers can better understand the intricate mechanisms underlying cellular functions and dysfunctions. ...
... Luigi Galvani first demonstrated the relationship between electricity and animals in 1780 by electrically stimulating frog limbs to cause movement. However, it was almost another hundred years before the first measurements of action potentials, in 1865 by Julius Bernstein, using a differential rheotome [28]. The first intracellular electrical measurements of the resting membrane in the protozoon Paramecium were performed in 1934 [29]. ...
Developmental patterning is essential for regulating cellular events such as axial patterning, segmentation, tissue formation, and organ size determination during embryogenesis. Understanding the patterning mechanisms remains a central challenge and fundamental interest in developmental biology. Ion-channel-regulated bioelectric signals have emerged as a player of the patterning mechanism, which may interact with morphogens. Evidence from multiple model organisms reveals the roles of bioelectricity in embryonic development, regeneration, and cancers. The Zebrafish model is the second most used vertebrate model, next to the mouse model. The zebrafish model has great potential for elucidating the functions of bioelectricity due to many advantages such as external development, transparent early embryogenesis, and tractable genetics. Here, we review genetic evidence from zebrafish mutants with fin-size and pigment changes related to ion channels and bioelectricity. In addition, we review the cell membrane voltage reporting and chemogenetic tools that have already been used or have great potential to be implemented in zebrafish models. Finally, new perspectives and opportunities for bioelectricity research with zebrafish are discussed.
... Müller developed the concept of electrical signal propagation though the nerve. Nevertheless, the first machine that was able to record resting and action potential was the 'differential rheotome' invented by Bernstein [21]. This machine was able to measure resting and action potential for the first time allowing for the estimation of the resting potential at ~ -60 mV and to develop the membrane theory of excitation. ...
In electrophysiology, multielectrode array devices (MEA) are the gold standard for the study of large ensambles of electrogenic cells. In the last decades, thanks to the adoption of nanotechnologies, the study of physiological and pathological conditions of electro-active cells in culture have becomes increasingly accurate. In parallel, studies exploited the integration of nanostructures with delivering capabilities with single-cell specificity and high throughput in biosensing platforms. Delivery and recording have independently led to great advances in neurobiology, however, their integration on a single chip would give complete insights into pathologies development and fundamental advancements in drug screening methods. In this work, we demonstrate how a microfluidic-MEA technology may be used to record both spontaneous and chemically induced activity in vitro. We propose a device that can deliver molecules to only a few chosen cells and detecting the response in cellular activity at multiple sites simultaneously. In addition, will be discussed how the adoption of nanoporous metamaterial in place of nanostructures might lower costs and speed up production. Furthermore, this same material, will be identified for the first time in this work as photoelectrical modulating material for eliciting electrogenic cells firing activity. Specifically, by converting NIR laser pulses into stimulatory currents, plasmonic metamaterials may be employed to induce action potentials. This method enables remote access to optical pacing with precise spatiotemporal control, allowing to be used as a valid alternative of the traditional genetic-based optical stimulation techniques. Therefore, in addition to pharmaceutical applications, these final characteristics may pave the way for a new generation of minimally invasive, cellular type-independent all-optical plasmonic pacemakers and muscle actuators.
... Of note, both Weidmann and Coraboeuf had previously worked in the laboratory of A. L. Hodgkin and A. F. Huxley in Cambridge, UK, where they had witnessed key developments in the field of cellular electrophysiology (see Refs. 32,33). Using squid giant axons, Hodgkin and Huxley (34) had developed the voltage-clamp technique to describe the various ionic currents underlying the action potential. ...
The human heart beats over eighty thousand times a day, and the average person's heart may have beaten up to 3 billion times by the age of 80. During the early stages of pregnancy, the heart beat provides the first visual and auditory sign of life of the foetus. Conversely, the first audible sound that the foetus is likely to hear is the heart beat of the mother. How fitting then, that at the "birth" Physiological Reviews the very first article published in 1921 written by Eyster and Meek addressed "The origin and conduction of the heart beat". ¹ In their insightful review, the authors discussed the landmark discoveries made from the mid-19 th century on the electrical function of the heart. Now, a hundred years later, at the start of the next century of Physiological Reviews, an update on the huge progress made in the "exciting" field of cardiac electrophysiology is warranted. Guided by a number of excellent reviews published in Physiological Reviews since 1921 as well as a large body of literature, an overview of the important advancements made on the topic is provided here.
... In 2019, he published three reviews on the basics of cardiac electrophysiology in Physiological Reports. [1][2][3] In 2020, a few weeks before his 90th birthday, he also gave the first webinar of the European Working Group on Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology (EWGCCE) on 'Cardiac cellular electrophysiology: back to basics', which was viewed by more than 700 scientists from around the world. ...
... One of the methods to assess membrane function is to study its ion channel population and their characteristics. [13] Electrophysiological assessment of articular chondrocytes has revealed the presence of myriad channels, either associated with volume regulation, ECM production or other cellular homeostatic functions. The channelome includes, voltage dependent potassium, calcium, sodium and chloride channels, non-selective cation or transient receptor potential channels, purinergic receptors, and pumps such as Na/K-ATPase and PMCA among others. ...
OBJECTIVES:
Cryopreserved chondrocytes find numerous applications in reconstructive surgery, tissue engineering, and cell-based therapy. Cryopreserved chondrocytes may behave differently due to a change in cell biology. To assess phenotype maintenance, the electrophysiological profile of the cells can be studied. In this study, a comparison between freshly isolated and cryopreserved chondrocytes was made by recording ionic currents using patch clamp.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Caprine articular chondrocytes were harvested and cryopreserved for 7–15 days and divided into two groups. Percentage cell viability was assessed, following which both fresh and cryopreserved cells were subjected to analysis in whole cell configuration using depolarizing voltage steps.
RESULTS:
Outwardly, rectifying currents were recorded in both groups. Comparison of current densities at all potentials above the threshold, revealed no significant difference between fresh and cryopreserved chondrocytes.
CONCLUSION:
As electrophysiological properties of cryopreserved chondrocytes appear to be maintained, they may be readily utilized in place of fresh cells.
The formation and evolution of cell physiology in USSR was associated with the academician Platon Kostuk, an outstanding world-renowned scientist. His scientific activity occurred in the second half of 20th century, the period of burst-like progress in electrophysiology that provided a number of remarkable results rewarded with three Novel prizes. In biology of that time, electrophysiology was the only field, wherein methods and approaches were developed for the on-line analysis of physiological processes in cells and tissues. The goal of the given essay is to highlight retrospective aspects of the bioelectricity concept and to characterize the related contribution of the electrophysiological school of P.G. Kostuk to the field.
