Impact of Sub-Millimeter Waves on the Assembly Kinetics of Microtubules

Microtubules are highly dynamic intracellular structures critical to many biological functions in eukaryotic cells. They grow and shrink via the addition or subtraction of tubulin heterodimers and, given their polar nature, are expected to interact with electromagnetic fields. We evaluated the effect that externally applied submillimeter (sub-MM) waves have on the assembly kinetics of MTs. We observed a difference in MT formation due to exposure to sub-MM waves of MTs in solution and in cultured cells. Preliminary results indicate an effect on cell morphology and cell metabolism. Understanding the dynamic behavior of MTs opens an avenue to control various fundamental cellular processes.