(Invited) Optical Control of the Membrane Potential of Living Cells with Donor-Acceptor-Linked Molecules
Authors: Murakami Tatsuya 
Published: July 2021

In living animal cells, there exists a difference in the electrical charge on the two extreme sides of the plasma membrane, that is, a slight excess of positive and negative ions outside and inside a cell, respectively. Such a charge difference produces a membrane potential (V
m) across the plasma membrane. The V
m (< 0) is controlled by various ion channels, and, especially, in neuronal cells, it is drastically changed for neurotransmission. In response to some input, the ion channels of neuronal cells get quickly activated such that the abovementioned difference is cancelled (∆V
m > 0, depolarization). This electrical signal propagates along the neuronal axons like a wave through coordinated activation and deactivation of the ion channels. Therefore, the control of membrane potential and ion transport across the plasma membrane using a light source is an attractive strategy that can allow targeted, fast control of precisely defined events in the plasma membrane. In this symposium, we have demonstrated a novel general strategy for the control of membrane potential and ion transport by using donor-acceptor-linked molecules (D-A molecules) capable of intramolecular long-lived charge separation, nanocarriers for solubilization, membrane targeting of D-A molecules, and light (Figure 1).

For the preparation of the D-A molecule, porphyrin (H2P) derivatives with ferrocene (Fc) and fullerene (C60) were synthesized to create a triadic arrangement (Fc-H2P-C60). We had previously reported that, under light irradiation, Fc-H2P-C60 yields the ferrocenium cation (Fc+)-H2P-C60 radical anion (C60
•-) with a long lifetime of ~0.01 ms [1]. For its solubilization in the physiological media and safer plasma membrane delivery, we focused on a lipoprotein in our body considering its amphiphilic property. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) can be reconstituted with recombinant lipid-binding proteins and phospholipids. We had previously reported that HDL genetically and chemically engineered with cytophilic peptides and fusogenic lipids is capable of high plasma membrane binding without significant cytotoxicity [2]. For this purpose, Fc-H2P-C60 was solubilized with one of our engineered HDL nanoparticles (cpHDL) and added to a cell culture medium of rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC12). The cell membrane delivery of Fc-H2P-C60 was suggested by confocal analysis and freeze-fracture electron microscopy. Subsequent light irradiation of PC12 cells increased the membrane potential (depolarization), which was not observed for the reference molecule (H2P) that was incapable of charge separation [3]. In addition, the inhibition of potassium ion flow across the membrane was found to be responsible for this depolarization (Figure 1). Our following study with 3 D-A molecules, including Fc-H2P-C60, revealed that the degree of the depolarization was positively correlated with the charge separation yield [4]. In this symposium, I will discuss more about the potential of applying our D-A molecules/carriers system in the biomedical fields.

Figure 1. Schematic illustration of optical control of membrane potential and cation flow using a D-A molecule (Fc-H2P-C60)

[1] Imahori, H. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc.
2001, 123, 2607-2617.

[2] Murakami, T., Biotechncol. J.
2012, 7, 762-767.; Kim, H. et al. Biochim. Biophys. Acta Biomembr.
2019, 1861, 183008.

[3] Numata, T. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc.
2012, 134, 6092-6095.

[4] Takano, Y. et al., Chem. Sci.
2016, 7, 3331-3337.

Figure 1