DMSO Chemically Alters Cell Membranes to Slow Exocytosis and Increase the Fraction of Partial Transmitter Released

Soodabeh Majdi, Neda Najafinobar, Johan Dunevall, Jelena Lovric, Andrew G. Ewing

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is frequently used as a solvent in biological studies and as a vehicle for drug therapy; but the side effects of DMSO, especially on the cell environment, are not well understood, and controls with DMSO are not neutral at higher concentrations. Herein, electrochemical measurement techniques are applied to show that DMSO increases exocytotic neurotransmitter release, while leaving vesicular contents unchanged. In addition, the kinetics of release from DMSO-treated cells are faster than that of untreated ones. The results suggest that DMSO has a significant influence on the chemistry of the cell membrane, leading to alteration of exocytosis. A speculative chemical mechanism of the effect on the fusion pore during exocytosis is presented.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1898-1902
Number of pages5
JournalChemBioChem
Volume18
Issue number19
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 5 2017

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Medicine
  • Molecular Biology
  • Organic Chemistry

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