Cell surface electric potential (Vm)

Cell surface electric potential refers to the biophysical state of a cell's plasma membrane, encompassing both the transmembrane potential (the voltage difference between the cytoplasm and the extracellular space) and the surface charge (zeta potential) resulting from the glycocalyx and lipid composition (Yang & Brackenbury, 2013). This potential is a critical regulator of cell behavior, influencing signal transduction, nutrient transport, and the progression of the cell cycle (Levin, 2012). In healthy tissues, excitable cells like neurons and myocytes utilize rapid potential changes for communication, while non-excitable cells maintain specific resting potentials that guide proliferation and differentiation. Abnormalities in cell potential are hallmark features of various pathologies; for instance, cancer cells are characteristically depolarized compared to their healthy counterparts, a state that promotes uncontrolled division and metastasis (Srivatsava et al., 2015). While not a single molecular target, cell surface potential is therapeutically modulated through ion channel blockers, pumps, and membrane-disrupting agents like cationic antimicrobial peptides, such as Polymyxin B, which targets the negative surface charge of bacterial membranes (Poortinga et al., 2002). Emerging 'electroceutical' approaches also aim to manipulate these bioelectric signals to induce tissue regeneration or suppress oncogenic growth.

Other names

Membrane potentialTransmembrane potentialZeta potentialCell surface chargeBioelectric stateResting membrane potential

Modulation of transmembrane ion gradients via ion channel inhibition or activation, disruption of surface charge-mediated interactions, or physical pore formation in response to electric field gradients.