Bioelectricity Boosts Immunity (IMAGE) Tufts University Caption How Vmem signal strengthens innate immune response: Normal tadpoles have polarized cells, with specific native amounts and distributions of melanocytes (pigment cells) and primitive myeloid cells (part of the innate immune system). Following chemical or genetic treatments that depolarize the cells' Vmem (transmembrane potential, or voltage potential caused by differences in negative and positive ions on opposite sides of a cell's membrane), pathways involving serotonin signaling induce proliferation and redistribution of both melanocytes and primitive myeloid cells, leading to an increase in the efficiency of the immune response when stimulated with a pathogen such as E. coli. Tail amputation induces a strong posterior Vmem depolarization at the site of injury, where melanocytes and primitive myeloid cells are recruited, resulting in a net increase of the latter in the embryo, leading to an enhanced innate immune response. Findings from Tufts University biologists appear in npj Regenerative Medicine on May 26, 2017. Credit Jean-Francois Pare/Tufts University Usage Restrictions For educational and news purposes only; not for advertising or commercial use License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.