Endogenous electric fields (EFs) direct the migration (electrotaxis) of keratinocytes in skin wounds, and the exogenous application of EFs may therefore improve wound healing, but the potential benefits are limited by the side effects of constant direct current (DC) passing through tissues. In contrast, with pulsed DC (characterized by intermittent output), parameters can be adjusted to minimize the adverse effects of electric currents. However, it remains unknown whether pulsed DC can reliably induce keratinocyte electrotaxis. In this study, using primary keratinocytes in an electrotaxis chamber, we found that a pulsed DCEF at physiological strength (EF = 150 mV/mm, duty cycle = 60%, frequency = 0.1 Hz) could induce robust electrotaxis. This effect was dependent on both voltage and duty cycle, but not on frequency. As predicted, fewer electrochemical reactions and cytotoxic reactions were detected with pulsed DCEF than with constant DCEF. In summary, we here demonstrate for the first time, that pulsed DCEF can trigger keratinocyte electrotaxis comparable to that induced by constant DCEF, while minimizing the electrochemical side effects. These findings support the future development of a pulsed DCEF device to improve wound healing in human patients.

内源性电场（EFs）指导角质形成细胞在皮肤伤口中的迁移（电动），因此，外源性应用EFs可以改善伤口愈合，但潜在的益处受到恒定的直流电（DC）穿过组织的副作用的限制。相反，使用脉冲直流电（通过间歇性输出来表征），可以调整参数以最大程度地减小电流的不利影响。但是，脉冲DC是否可以可靠地诱导角质形成细胞的电轴性仍是未知的。在这项研究中，我们在电轴室中使用原代角质形成细胞，发现生理强度（EF = 150 mV / mm，占空比= 60％，频率= 0.1 Hz）下的脉冲DCEF可以诱导牢固的电轴化。这种影响取决于电压和占空比，但不取决于频率。如预期的那样 使用脉冲DCEF所检测到的电化学反应和细胞毒性反应要少于恒定DCEF。总而言之，我们在此首次证明，脉冲DCEF可以触发与恒定DCEF诱导的角质形成细胞可比的角质形成细胞电趋化，同时最大程度地减少了电化学副作用。这些发现支持脉冲DCEF装置的未来发展，以改善人类患者的伤口愈合。