Oscillatory cell membrane potentials and ion channel protein transcription: a biophysical model

The interplay between genetic and bioelectric networks is of significance in Biophysics because voltage-gated ion channels are involved in multitude of development, regeneration, and tumorigenesis processes. We have developed a model that shows the rich biophysical dynamics that can occur at the individual cell scale. In particular, we have theoretically characterized monostable and bistable stationary as well as oscillatory cell membrane potentials on the basis of a system of differential equations that couple together two generic families of ion channels. The model incorporates a minimal number of biologically-plausible assumptions that are independent from specific microscopic details. The electrical rhythms found provide an oscillatory feedback between bioelectrical and transcriptional signals that can be experimentally modulated by external actions on specific ion channels.