ABSTRACT
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 40 Bioelectrical Controls of Cellular Function: Molecular Pathways and Mechanisms ........................................................................................................ 42
State-of-the-Art Tools for Research in Bioelectric Signaling ........................ 42 Cellular-Level Processes Controlled by Bioelectric Signals .......................... 46 Higher-Level Integration: The Roles of Bioelectric Signals in Morphogenesis ............................................................................................... 50 How Are Changes in Membrane Voltage Transduced to Canonical Pathways? ....................................................................................................... 52 Unique Features of Bioelectrical Signaling Processes ................................... 55
Morphogenetic Fields: Regeneration in a Broader Context ................................ 62 Regeneration, Cancer, and Development: Three Sides of One Puzzle .......... 64 Bioelectric Signals in Cancer ......................................................................... 65
Conclusion and Future Prospects ........................................................................ 67 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................... 69 References ........................................................................................................... 70
Embryonic development, regeneration, and prevention of cancer during adult remodeling all require the generation and maintenance of complex order on several scales of size and organization. Endogenous electric šelds, ion ’ows, and transmembrane potential gradients are a powerful system underlying crucial aspects of morphogenetic regulation. Bioelectrical signals produced by ion channels and pumps are increasingly recognized as determinants of cell proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, shape, orientation, and migration. Moreover, exciting recent data using state-of-the-art molecular approaches in vivo have demonstrated that rational changes in ion ’ow can initiate complex regenerative responses and modulate patterning in a variety of cell types. Thus, bioelectrical signals are not only a profoundly interesting area of investigation for cell, developmental, and evolutionary biology, but also an exciting target for the development of biomedical strategies in regenerative medicine.
