Christopher J. Staiger, Departments of Biological Sciences and Botany and Plant Pathology \u2013 developed the photoactivation techniques used in the study.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nTogether, these groups combined cell biology, engineering, and neuroscience to uncover how electrical activity within immune cells drives their movement \u2014 a discovery made possible through Purdue\u2019s highly collaborative research environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Electric Compass Inside Immune Cells<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Every cell in the body maintains a voltage difference across its outer membrane, caused by the uneven distribution of charged particles like potassium and sodium. This voltage \u2014 known as the membrane potential \u2014 acts like an internal electric field that can influence how a cell behaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In neurons, for example, electrical impulses control communication and reflexes. The Purdue team found that neutrophils, although not nerve cells, use a similar electrical system to guide their movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen a neutrophil is at rest, its membrane voltage is suppressed,\u201d Deng explained. \u201cBut when the immune system calls it into action, the voltage changes \u2014 the front of the cell becomes more excited while the back becomes more inhibited. That electrical difference helps the cell know which direction to move.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, Kir7.1 helps keep the cell in a \u201cready but restrained\u201d state. When a signal from damaged tissue or a pathogen appears, this electrical balance shifts, allowing the cell to form a leading edge and move toward the target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seeing Electricity in Motion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Using advanced imaging and photoactivation techniques developed in the Staiger Lab, researchers were able to visualize and manipulate the electrical potential across individual immune cells. When they artificially changed the voltage in specific regions of a cell, they could direct where new protrusions formed \u2014 effectively steering the cell with light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like watching an immune cell think.\u201d said Zhang. \u201cBy controlling its electrical state, we could actually influence the direction it chose to move.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The researchers also demonstrated that when the cells were made too electrically quiet \u2014 overly hyperpolarized \u2014 they stalled, unable to move at all. These findings show that maintaining a precise electrical balance is essential for effective immune response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Immune Cells That Cct Like Neurons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Deng often compares this process to how neurons fire signals in the brain. \u201cWe found that immune cells are like neurons,\u201d she said. \u201cTheir membrane voltage is normally suppressed, but when action is needed, it quickly rises to activate the cell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This insight adds a new dimension to how scientists understand immune cell behavior. It suggests that bioelectricity is not just a feature of the nervous system \u2014 it is a universal control mechanism that may guide many types of cell movement and communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Potential Applications and Future Directions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Understanding how membrane voltage controls cell movement could eventually lead to new ways to guide immune cells in the body. The team envisions that cell depolarization might be used one day to direct immune cells toward tumors or sites of inflammation, offering new therapeutic strategies for cancer and autoimmune diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Bioelectricity does not stop with the neuromuscular and immune systems,” Zhang said. “This multifaceted biophysical signaling is also rapidly finding its way into embryonic development, organogenesis, regeneration, and cancer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Research Powered by Purdue Collaboration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research. Additional support came from the EMBRIO Institute, a National Science Foundation Biology Integration Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur discovery was only possible because of the collaborative culture and resources here at Purdue,\u201d Deng said. \u201cIt started as a partnership between two labs, and grew to include engineers, neuroscientists, and biophysicists \u2014 all working together to see how electricity drives life at the cellular level.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The body\u2019s immune system is constantly on patrol, deploying billions of specialized cells to detect and destroy harmful invaders. Among the first to respond are neutrophils \u2014 fast-moving white blood cells that rush to sites of infection or injury. But how do these tiny first responders know where to go? A new study led by Purdue University researchers reveals that electrical signals across a cell\u2019s membrane \u2014 a form of bioelectricity \u2014 play a critical role in how immune cells navigate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":32019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,11],"tags":[2296,317,811],"class_list":["post-32017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-research","tag-biological-sciences","tag-discovery","tag-pvm-report"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32017"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32428,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32017\/revisions\/32428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}