Bruce
H. Lipton, Ph.D.
Insight
into Cellular "Consciousness"
By Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. © 2001
Reprinted from Bridges, 2001 Vol 12(1):5
ISSEEM (303) 425-4625
Though a human is comprised of over fifty trillion cells, there
are no physiologic functions in our bodies that were not already
pre-existing in the biology of the single, nucleated
(eukaryotic) cell. Single-celled organisms, such as the amoeba
or paramecium, possess the cytological equivalents of a
digestive system, an excretory system, a respiratory system, a
musculoskeletal system, an immune system, a reproductive system
and a cardiovascular system, among others. In the humans, these
physiologic functions are associated with the activity of
specific organs. These same physiologic processes are carried
out in cells by diminutive organ systems called organelles.
Cellular life is sustained by tightly regulating the functions
of the cell’s physiologic systems. The expression of predictable
behavioral repertoires implies the existence of a cellular
"nervous system." This system reacts to environmental stimuli by
eliciting appropriate behavioral responses. The organelle that
coordinates the adjustments and reactions of a cell to its
internal and external environments would represent the
cytoplasmic equivalent of the "brain."
Since the breaking of the genetic code in the early 1950's, cell
biologists have favored the concept of genetic determinism,
the notion that genes "control" biology. Virtually all of the
cell’s genes are contained within the cell’s largest organelle,
the nucleus. Conventional opinion considers the nucleus
to be the "command center" of the cell. As such, the nucleus
would represent the cellular equivalent of the "brain."
Genetic determinism infers that the expression and fate of an
organism are primarily "predetermined" in its genetic code. The
genetic basis of organismal expression is ingrained in the
biological sciences as a consensual truth, a belief by which we
frame our reference for health and disease. Hence the notion
that susceptibility to certain illnesses or the expression of
aberrant behavior is generally linked to genetic lineage and, on
occasions, spontaneous mutations. By extension, it is also
perceived by a majority of scientists that the human mind and
consciousness are "encoded" in the molecules of the nervous
system. This in turn promotes the concept that the emergence of
consciousness reflects the "ghost in the machine."
The primacy of DNA in influencing and regulating biological
behavior and evolution is based upon an unfounded assumption. A
seminal article by H. F. Nijhout (BioEssays 1990, 12
(9):441-446) describes how concepts concerning genetic
"controls" and "programs" were originally conceived as metaphors
to help define and direct avenues of research. Widespread
repetition of this compelling hypothesis over fifty years has
resulted in the "metaphor of the model" becoming the "truth of
the mechanism," in spite of the absence of substantiative
supporting evidence. Since the assumption emphasizes the genetic
program as the "top rung" on the biological control ladder,
genes have acquired the status of causal agents in eliciting
biological expression and behavior (e.g., genes causing cancer,
alcoholism, even criminality).
The notion that the nucleus and its genes are the "brain" of the
cell is an untenable and illogical hypothesis. If the brain is
removed from an animal, disruption of physiologic integration
would immediately lead to the organism's death. If the nucleus
truly represented the brain of the cell, then removal of the
nucleus would result in the cessation of cell functions and
immediate cell death. However, experimentally enucleated
cells may survive for two or more months with out genes, and yet
are capable of effecting complex responses to environmental and
cytoplasmic stimuli (Lipton, et al., Differentiation 1991,
46:117-133). Logic reveals that the nucleus can not be
the brain of the cell!
Studies on cloned human cells led me to the awareness that the
cell’s plasmalemma, commonly referred to as the cell
membrane, represents the cell’s "brain." Cell membranes,
the first biological organelle to appear in evolution, are the
only organelle common to every living organism. Cell membranes
compartmentalize the cytoplasm, separating it from the vagaries
of the external environment. In its barrier capacity, the
membrane enables the cell to maintain tight "control" over the
cytoplasmic environment, a necessity in carrying out biological
reactions. Cell membranes are so thin that they can only be
observed using the electron microscope. Consequently, the
existence and universal expression of the membrane structure
was only clearly established around 1950.
In electron micrographs, the cell membrane appears as a
vanishingly thin (<10nm), tri-layered (black-white-black) "skin"
enveloping the cell. The fundamental structural simplicity of
the cell membrane, which is identical for all biological
organisms, beguiled cell biologists. For most of the last fifty
years, the membrane was perceived as a "passive," semi-permeable
barrier, resembling a breathable "plastic wrap," whose function
was to simply contain the cytoplasm.
The membrane’s layered appearance reflects the organization of
its phospholipid building blocks. These lollipop-shaped
molecules are amphipathic, they possess both a globular polar
phosphate head (Figure A) and two stick-like non-polar
legs (Figure B). When shaken in solution, the phospholipids
self-assemble into a stabilizing crystalline bilayer (Figure C).
The lipid legs comprising the core of the membrane provide a
hydrophobic barrier (Figure D) that partitions the cytoplasm
from the ever-changing external environment. While cytoplasmic
integrity is maintained by the lipid’s passive barrier function,
life processes necessitate the active exchange of metabolites
and information between the cytoplasm and surrounding
environment. The physiologic activities of the plasmalemma are
mediated by the membrane’s proteins .
Each of the approximately 100,000 different proteins providing
for the human body is comprised of a linear chain of linked
amino acids. The "chains" are assembled from a population of
twenty different amino acids. Each protein’s unique structure
and function is defined by the specific sequence of amino acids
comprising its chain. Synthesized as a linear string, the amino
acid chains subsequently fold into unique three dimensional
globules. The final conformation (shape) of the protein
reflects a balance of electrical charges among its constituent
amino acids.
The three dimensional morphology of folded proteins endows their
surfaces with specifically shaped clefts and pockets. Molecules
and ions possessing complementary physical shapes and electrical
charges will bind to a protein’s surface clefts and pockets with
the specificity of a lock-and-key. Binding of another molecule
alters the protein’s electrical charge distribution. In
response, the protein’s amino acid chain will spontaneously
refold to rebalance the charge distribution. Refolding changes
the protein’s conformation. In shifting from one conformation
to the next, the protein expresses movement. Protein
conformational movements are harnessed by the cell to carry out
physiologic functions. The work generated by protein movement is
responsible for "life."
A number of the twenty amino acids comprising the protein’s
chain are non-polar (hydrophobic, oil-loving). The hydrophobic
portions of proteins seek stability by inserting themselves into
the membrane’s lipid core. The polar (water-loving) portions of
these proteins extend from either or both of the membrane’s
water-covered surfaces. Proteins incorporated within the
membrane are called integral membrane proteins (IMPs).
Membrane IMPs can be functionally subdivided into two classes:
receptors and effectors. Receptors are input
devices that respond to environmental signals. Effectors are
output devices that activate cellular processes. A family of
processor proteins, located in the cytoplasm beneath the
membrane, serve to link signal-receiving receptors with
action-producing effectors.
Receptors are molecular "antennas" that recognize environmental
signals. Some receptor antennas extend inward from the
membrane’s cytoplasmic face. These receptors "read" the
internal milieu and provide awareness of cytoplasmic conditions.
Other receptors extending from the cell’s outer surface provide
awareness of external environmental signals.
Conventional biomedical sciences hold that environmental
"information" can only be carried by the substance of
molecules (Science 1999, 284:79-109). According to this
notion, receptors only recognize "signals" that physically
complement their surface features. This materialistic belief is
maintained even though it has been amply demonstrated that
protein receptors respond to vibrational frequencies. Through a
process known as electroconformational coupling (Tsong,
Trends in Biochem. Sci. 1989, 14:89-92), resonant
vibrational energy fields can alter the balance of charges in a
protein. In a harmonic energy field, receptors will change
their conformation. Consequently, membrane receptors respond to
both physical and energetic environmental information.
A receptor’s "activated" conformation informs the cell of
a signal’s existence. Changes in receptor conformation provide
for cellular "awareness." In its "activated" conformation, a
signal-receiving receptor may bind to either a specific
function-producing effector protein or to intermediary
processor protein. Receptor proteins return to their
original "inactive" conformation and detach from other proteins
when the signal ceases.
The family of effector proteins represent "output" devices.
There are three different types of effectors, transport
proteins, enzymes and cytoskeletal proteins.
Transporters, which include the extensive family of channels,
serve to transport molecules and information from one side of
the membrane barrier to the other. Enzymes are responsible for
metabolic synthesis and degradation. Cytoskeletal proteins
regulate the shape and motility of cells.
Effector proteins generally possess two conformations: an active
configuration in which the protein expresses its function; and a
"resting" conformation in which the protein is inactive. For
example, a channel protein in its active conformation possesses
an open pore through which specific ions or molecules traverse
the membrane barrier. In returning to an inactive conformation,
protein refolding constricts the conducting channel and the flow
of ions or molecules ceases.
Putting all the pieces together we are provide with insight as
to how the cell’s "brain" processes information and elicits
behavior. The innumerable molecular and radiant energy signals
in a cell's environment creates a virtual cacophony of
information. In a manner resembling a biological Fourier
transform, individual surface receptors (Fig. H) sense the
apparently chaotic environment and filter out specific
frequencies as behavioral signals. Receipt of a resonant signal
(Fig. I, arrow) induces a conformational change in the
cytoplasmic portion of the receptor (Fig. I, arrowhead). This
conformational change enables the receptor to complex with a
specific effector IMP (Fig. J, in this case a channel
IMP). Binding of the receptor protein (Fig. K) in turn elicits a
conformational change in the effector protein (Fig. L, channel
opens). Activated receptors can turn on enzyme pathways, induce
structural reorganization and motility or activate transport of
uniquely pulsed electrical signals and ions across the membrane.
Processor proteins serve as "multiplex" devices in that they can
increase the versatility of the signal system. Such proteins
interface receptors with effector proteins (P in figure M). By
"programming" processor protein coupling, a variety of inputs
can be linked with a variety of outputs. Processor proteins
provide for a large behavioral repertoire using a limited number
of IMPs.
Effector IMPs convert receptor-mediated environmental signals
into biological behavior. The output function of some effector
proteins might represent the full extent of an elicited
behavior. However, in most cases, the output of effector IMPs
actually serve as a secondary "signal" which penetrates the cell
and activates behavior of other cytoplasmic protein pathways.
Activated effector proteins also serve as transcription
factors, signals that elicit gene expression.
The behavior of the cell is controlled by the combined actions
of coupled receptors and effector IMPs. Receptors provide
"awareness of the environment" and effector proteins convert
that awareness into "physical sensation." By strict definition,
a receptor-effector complex represents a fundamental unit of
perception. Protein perception units provide the foundation
of biological consciousness. Perceptions "control" cell
behavior, though in truth, a cell is actually "controlled" by
beliefs, since perceptions may not necessarily be accurate.
The cell membrane is an organic information processor. It
senses the environment and converts that awareness into
"information" that can influence the activity of protein
pathways and control the expression of the genes. A description
of the membrane’s structure and function reads as follows: (A)
based upon the organization of its phospholipid molecules, the
membrane is a liquid crystal; B) the regulated transport
of information across the hydrophobic barrier by IMP effector
proteins renders the membrane a semiconductor; and (C)
the membrane is endowed with IMPs that function as gates
(receptors) and channels. As a liquid crystal
semiconductor with gates and channels, the membrane is an
information processing transistor, an organic computer
chip.
Each receptor-effector complex represents a biological BIT, a
single unit of perception. Though this hypothesis was first
formally presented in 1986 (Lipton 1986, Planetary Assoc. for
Clean Energy Newsletter 5:4), the concept has since been
technologically verified. Cornell and others (Nature
1997, 387:580-584), linked a membrane to a gold foil substrate.
By controlling the electrolytes between the membrane and the
foil, they were able to digitize the opening and closing of
receptor-activated channels. The cell and a chip are homologous
structures.
The cell is a carbon-based "computer chip" that reads the
environment. Its "keyboard" is comprised of receptors.
Environmental information is entered via its protein "keys."
The data is transduced into biological behavior by effector
proteins. The IMP BITs serve as switches that regulate cell
functions and gene expression. The nucleus represents a "hard
disk" with DNA-coded software. Recent advances in molecular
biology emphasize the read/write nature of this hard drive.
Interestingly, the thickness of the membrane (about 7.5 nm) is
fixed by the dimensions of the phospholipid bilayer. Since
membrane IMPs are approximately 6-8 nm in diameter, they can
only form a monolayer in the membrane. IMP units can not stack
upon one another, the addition of more perception units is
directly linked to an increase in membrane surface area. By this
understanding, evolution, the expansion of awareness (i.e., the
addition of more IMPs) would most effectively be modeled using
fractal geometry. The fractal nature of biology can be
observed in the structural and functional reiterations observed
among the hierarchy of the cell, multicellular organisms (man)
and the communities of multicellular organisms (human society).
This new perception on cell control mechanisms frees us from the
limitations of genetic determinism. Rather than behaving as
programmed genetic automatons, biological behavior is
dynamically linked to the environment. Though this reductionist
approach has highlighted the mechanism of the individual
perception proteins, an understanding of the processing
mechanism emphasizes the holistic nature of biological
organisms. The expression of the cell reflects the recognition
of all perceived environmental stimuli, both physical and
energetic. Consequently, the "Heart of Energy Medicine" may
truly be found in the magic of the membrane.
Bruce Lipton may be contacted by writing to him at:
2574 Pine Flat Road
Santa Cruz, CA 9506
(831) 454-0606
References and Notes
1. H. F. Nijhout, BioEssays, 12(9) (John
Wiley and Sons, New York, NY,1990) pp.441-446
2. B. H. Lipton, et al., Differentiation,
46(Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, FRG, 1991) pp.117-133
3. N. Williams, Science, 277 (AAAS,
Washington, DC 1997) pp476-477
4. T. Y. Tsong, Trends in Biochemical Sciences
14 (Elsevier, West Sussex, UK 1989) pp. 89-92
5. B. H. Lipton, Planetary Association for
Clean Energy Newsletter, 5 (Planetary Association for Clean
Energy, Hull, Quebec, 1986) pg. 4
6. B. A. Cornell, et al. Nature 387
(Nature Publishing Group, London, UK,1997) pp. 580-584
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