PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Julia R. Lazzari-Dean AU - Anneliese M.M. Gest AU - Evan W. Miller TI - Optical determination of absolute membrane potential AID - 10.1101/519736 DP - 2019 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 519736 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/01/14/519736.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/01/14/519736.full AB - All cells maintain ionic gradients across their plasma membranes, producing transmembrane potentials (Vmem). Mounting evidence suggests a relationship between resting Vmem and the physiology of non-excitable cells with implications in diverse areas, including cancer, cellular differentiation, and body patterning. A lack of non-invasive methods to record absolute Vmem limits our understanding of this fundamental signal. To address this need, we developed a fluorescence lifetime-based approach (VF-FLIM) to visualize and optically quantify Vmem with single-cell resolution. Using VF-FLIM, we report Vmem distributions over thousands of cells, a 100-fold improvement relative to electrophysiological approaches. In human carcinoma cells, we visualize the voltage response to epidermal growth factor stimulation, stably recording a 10-15 mV hyperpolarization over minutes. Using pharmacological inhibitors, we identify the source of the hyperpolarization as the Ca2+-activated K+ channel Kca3.1. The ability to optically quantify absolute Vmem with cellular resolution will allow a re-examination of its roles as a cellular signal.