N. Sabri et al., ELECTROPERMEABILIZATION OF INTACT MAIZE CELLS INDUCES AN OXIDATIVE STRESS, European journal of biochemistry, 238(3), 1996, pp. 737-743
By applying electric field pulses through cell suspensions, cell membr
anes can be permeabilized transiently, giving free access to the cytos
ol. Electropulsation is now routinely used in cell biology when introd
ucing various molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids into the ce
ll. But the molecular and cellular bases of cell electropermeabilizati
on are still unclear. In the present study, we observed that electrope
rmeabilization of intact black Mexican sweet (EMS) maize cells induces
a generation of oxygen species (oxidative jump). Using the chemilumin
escent probe lucigenin, we have shown that the electroinduced chemilum
inescent response depends on the level of the stress factor as shown b
y its dependence on the electric parameters (electric field intensity,
duration, and number of pulses). While the electroinduced cell permea
bilization has a short life, the oxidative jump that is triggered by t
his electropermeabilization is a much longer-lived response. electroin
duced loss in viability is linearly correlated to permeabilization. Ho
wever, there is no correlation between the oxidative jump and the loss
in viability. The modulation of oxygen species electroinduction by an
tioxidant products (dimethylsulfoxide, sodium L-ascorbate, and glutath
ione) does not lead to an increase in cell viability. Such results are
different to those observed with mammalian cells and indicate that ev
en if the same phenomenon is observed when pulsing mammalian or intact
plant cells, the associated metabolic response is not the same.