I try to abolish the plasma membrane potential in a mammalian cell line. In an ideal world the plasma membrane should not be destroyed, the mitochondrial membrane potential not be affected and the treatment should be done in 3 hours. The last two points are not that important.
Does anyone know of a chemical/ antibiotic / compound? What concentration for how long?
Many thanks
Hi Sabine,
Maybe this article can help you in any way.
'Membrane potential modulates plasma membrane phospholipid dynamics and K-Ras signaling' by Zhou, Wong, Cho, van der Hoeven, Liang, Thakur, Luo, Babic et al. 2015
Best,
Rafael Alvarez-University of Islas Baleares (Spain)
Hi Sabine,
In order to abolish the resting membrane potential you may want to block the Na+/K+ ATPase, for example using ouabain or vanadate. lternatively you can probably simply increase the external potassium concentration to roughly 75 mM an you should be close to 0 mV. However, regardless the strategy you are using, it is more than likely that the mitochondrial metabolism and so the mitochondrial potential will also be affected; you might be fine with short treatment, though.
Hope this helps. Norbert
Be aware though, that abolishing the membrane potential usually goes hand in hand with changes in ionic concentrations leading to cell swelling and (excitotoxic) calcium influx, as occurs during ischemia.
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