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Extracellular bioelectrical lexicon: detecting rhythmic patterns within dermal fibroblast populations
Rute C Félix1,2, Maria C Medeiros3, Youssef Elamine3
1Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR/CIMAR), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal.
Scientific Reports
|August 15, 2025
Summary
Non-electrogenic cells communicate using bioelectrical signals. Researchers discovered these signals change based on cell activity, revealing a novel short-range communication system.
Area of Science:
- Bioelectronics
- Cellular Electrophysiology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Non-electrogenic cells, such as dermal fibroblasts, lack the typical electrical excitability of neurons or muscle cells.
- Understanding intercellular communication in these cell types is crucial for comprehending tissue development, repair, and disease.
- Existing communication models often focus on chemical signaling, leaving bioelectrical mechanisms in non-excitable cells underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the generation and characteristics of bioelectrical signals in populations of non-electrogenic cells.
- To determine if these cells utilize bioelectrical patterns for information transfer.
- To correlate specific bioelectrical signal patterns with distinct cellular states, such as monolayer formation and wound repair.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a bioelectronic-based approach employing large-area Multielectrode Arrays (MEAs).
- Performed electrophysiological recordings on in vitro cultures of non-electrogenic cells, specifically dermal fibroblasts.
- Analyzed signal patterns, dominant periods, and burst frequencies under different conditions (monolayer formation, healthy monolayer, wound infliction, and repair).
Main Results:
- Populations of non-electrogenic cells generate distinct patterns of bioelectrical signals.
- Signal periodicity is dependent on cell population activity.
- During monolayer formation, random signals with a dominant period of 4.2 minutes were observed, along with occasional bursts (1.6–2 minutes).
- Mechanical wounding and subsequent repair induced quasi-periodic signal bursts with periods ranging from 60 to 110 minutes.
Conclusions:
- Non-electrogenic cells possess a capacity for bioelectrical signaling.
- A short-range, non-humoral communication system mediated by bioelectrical signals exists in these cells.
- A potential 'lexicon' of bioelectrical signals linked to specific cell states (e.g., repair, formation) has been identified.
