The inverse relation between mitochondrial transmembrane potential and proteins α-helix in neuronal-like cells under static magnetic field and the role of VDAC

ABSTRACT

In this study, a correlation between cell channel α-helices displacement and the mitochondrial transmembrane potential after exposure of 3, 7, 15 and 24 h of neuronal-like cells to a uniform magnetic field at the intensity of 2 mT was shown. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and fluorescence techniques were used to analyze the secondary structure of protein content and mitochondrial transmembrane potential, respectively. The main result of this study was represented by a significant inverse relation between the mitochondrial transmembrane potential and the intensity of the Amide I band that can be associated with time exposure. Given that mitochondrial transmembrane potential should be related to the gating state of voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) in mitochondrial membrane, this result could have a relevant role in medicine. Indeed, VDAC's irregular behavior can be associated with several varieties of mitochondria-associated pathologies and various forms of cancer and neurodegeneration.

KEYWORDS:

• Mitochondrial transmembrane potential
• proteins α-helix
• neuronal-like cells
• static magnetic field
• VDAC

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

The article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.