Measurements of mammalian oocytes electrical characteristics

The development of cell engineering technologies using various electroporation modes requires knowledge of the electrical characteristics of living cells. Usually, cells are taken from laboratory animals of the same species, and the question of specifi c features of cells electrical characteristics remains open. Using the method of pulsed conductometry in an electric fi eld with rising strength, the electrical characteristics (conductivity, intensity) were measured during electroporation and electrical breakdown of oocytes membranes of mammalian species: Mus musculus (mouse), Oryctolagus cuniculus (rabbit), Sus scrofa (pig), Bos Taurus (cow) and Homo sapiens (human) were measured by pulsed conductometry in an electric fi eld with rising strength. Mathematical analysis of the experimental dependences of the conductivity of mammalian oocytes based on polynomial approximation was performed. The electrical characteristics of oocytes were obtained as a result of the analysis of approximating polynomials for the presence of maximum curvature (electric breakdown of the membrane), infl ection points and local extrema (degree of reversible electroporation). Signifi cant species differences in the measured electrical characteristics of the studied oocytes were established. The measurement results showed a signifi cant species specifi city of electrical characteristics, refl ecting the different resistance of oocytes to electrical breakdown and the degree of reversible electroporation of membranes, which is probably associated with the peculiarities of their lipid composition, the integrity of the cytoskeleton structure, and the resistance of cells as a whole to the impact of a pulsed fi eld. The results obtained can be used to implement various modes of electromanipulation with a living cell – electrotransfection of DNA, genes, electrofusion, as well as for point lysis of cells with a lost apoptosis mechanism. 

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