K. Kimura et al., ELECTRICALLY-INDUCED NEURITE OUTGROWTH OF PC12 CELLS ON THE ELECTRODESURFACE, Medical & biological engineering & computing, 36(4), 1998, pp. 493-498
Morphological differentiation of PC12 cells cultured on an indium-tin
oxide (ITO) electrode has been induced to grow neurites in the absence
of nerve growth factor (NGF) by electrical stimulation. Rectangular p
ulse wave potentials were applied to the electrode at amplitudes of 20
0 mV and 400 mV with frequencies of 50 Hz, 500 Hz, and 1 kHz. The PC12
cells differentiated most prominently at 200 mV with 100 Hz. No stati
stically significant differences were observed among the electrically
induced neurite lengths. The electrically induced differentiation was
completely inhibited by a blockade of calcium influx using LaCl3. This
indicates that repeated potential shift in the vicinity of a cellular
membrane may stimulate morphological response, probably through calci
um ion channels.