Electric fields at the plasma membrane level: a neglected element in the mechanisms of cell signalling

Membrane proteins possess certain features that make them susceptible to the electric fields generated at the level of the plasma membrane. A reappraisal of cell signalling, taking into account the protein interactions with the membrane electrostatic profile, suggests that an electrical dimension is deeply involved in this fundamental aspect of cell biology. At least three types of potentials can contribute to this dimension: (1) the potential across the compact layer of water adherent to membrane surfaces; this potential is affected by classical inducers of cell differentiation, like dimethylsulfoxide and hexamethylenebisacetamide; (2) the potential across the Gouy-Chapman double layer, which accounts for the effects of extracellular cations in the modulation of differentiation; and (3) the resting potential. This last potential and its governing ion currents can be exploited in localised mechanisms of cell signalling centred on the functional association of integrin receptors with ion channels.