scholarly journals Lipidomics at the Interface of Structure and Function in Systems Biology

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 284-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard W. Gross ◽  
Xianlin Han
Author(s):  
Zilin Nie ◽  
Yanming Nie

Systems biology has been established for more than a decade in the post-genomic era. With the help of the computational and mathematical tools, systems biology reconstitutes the entire scenario of the cell, tissue and even organism from the pieces data generated in the past decades. However, the modern biology is mainly focusing on the structure and function of the biomolecule, cell, tissue or organ, which are far from the essence of the life because of missing thermodynamic information. It is doubtable that the current systems biology-based omics is no-how to fully understand the dynamic courses of the structure, function and information in life. For this reason, we promote a novel concept of aquamoleculomics, in which the biological structure and function as well as thermodynamic characteristics and bioinformation of the aquamolecule complexes are included in this theoretical model of systems biology. Water is mother of life, matter and matrix of organism. Indeed, the fundamental roles of H2O molecules in biological processes might be dramatically underestimated. Extremely speaking, H2O networks in the living system might be engaged in all the biological processes including building all the biological structures, the residential places of the motherhood molecules as the honeycombs of honeybees.


2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt W. Kohn ◽  
Mirit I. Aladjem ◽  
John N. Weinstein ◽  
Yves Pommier

A standard for bioregulatory network diagrams is urgently needed in the same way that circuit diagrams are needed in electronics. Several graphical notations have been proposed, but none has become standard. We have prepared many detailed bioregulatory network diagrams using the molecular interaction map (MIM) notation, and we now feel confident that it is suitable as a standard. Here, we describe the MIM notation formally and discuss its merits relative to alternative proposals. We show by simple examples how to denote all of the molecular interactions commonly found in bioregulatory networks. There are two forms of MIM diagrams. “Heuristic” MIMs present the repertoire of interactions possible for molecules that are colocalized in time and place. “Explicit” MIMs define particular models (derived from heuristic MIMs) for computer simulation. We show also how pathways or processes can be highlighted on a canonical heuristic MIM. Drawing a MIM diagram, adhering to the rules of notation, imposes a logical discipline that sharpens one's understanding of the structure and function of a network.


2010 ◽  
Vol 298 (6) ◽  
pp. C1280-C1290 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Rickey Welch ◽  
James S. Clegg

Present-day cellular systems biology is producing data on an unprecedented scale. This field has generated a renewed interest in the holistic, “system” character of cell structure-and-function. Underlying the data deluge, however, there is a clear and present need for a historical foundation. The origin of the “system” view of the cell dates to the birth of the protoplasm concept. The 150-year history of the role of “protoplasm” in cell biology is traced. It is found that the “protoplasmic theory,” not the “cell theory,” was the key 19th-century construct that drove the study of the structure-and-function of living cells and set the course for the development of modern cell biology. The evolution of the “protoplasm” picture into the 20th century is examined by looking at controversial issues along the way and culminating in the current views on the role of cytological organization in cellular activities. The relevance of the “protoplasmic theory” to 21st-century cellular systems biology is considered.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Mancuso ◽  
Jie Cheng ◽  
Zheng Yin ◽  
Jared C. Gilliam ◽  
Xiaofeng Xia ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Peter Sterling

The synaptic connections in cat retina that link photoreceptors to ganglion cells have been analyzed quantitatively. Our approach has been to prepare serial, ultrathin sections and photograph en montage at low magnification (˜2000X) in the electron microscope. Six series, 100-300 sections long, have been prepared over the last decade. They derive from different cats but always from the same region of retina, about one degree from the center of the visual axis. The material has been analyzed by reconstructing adjacent neurons in each array and then identifying systematically the synaptic connections between arrays. Most reconstructions were done manually by tracing the outlines of processes in successive sections onto acetate sheets aligned on a cartoonist's jig. The tracings were then digitized, stacked by computer, and printed with the hidden lines removed. The results have provided rather than the usual one-dimensional account of pathways, a three-dimensional account of circuits. From this has emerged insight into the functional architecture.


Author(s):  
K.E. Krizan ◽  
J.E. Laffoon ◽  
M.J. Buckley

With increase use of tissue-integrated prostheses in recent years it is a goal to understand what is happening at the interface between haversion bone and bulk metal. This study uses electron microscopy (EM) techniques to establish parameters for osseointegration (structure and function between bone and nonload-carrying implants) in an animal model. In the past the interface has been evaluated extensively with light microscopy methods. Today researchers are using the EM for ultrastructural studies of the bone tissue and implant responses to an in vivo environment. Under general anesthesia nine adult mongrel dogs received three Brånemark (Nobelpharma) 3.75 × 7 mm titanium implants surgical placed in their left zygomatic arch. After a one year healing period the animals were injected with a routine bone marker (oxytetracycline), euthanized and perfused via aortic cannulation with 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer pH 7.2. Implants were retrieved en bloc, harvest radiographs made (Fig. 1), and routinely embedded in plastic. Tissue and implants were cut into 300 micron thick wafers, longitudinally to the implant with an Isomet saw and diamond wafering blade [Beuhler] until the center of the implant was reached.


Author(s):  
Robert L. Ochs

By conventional electron microscopy, the formed elements of the nuclear interior include the nucleolus, chromatin, interchromatin granules, perichromatin granules, perichromatin fibrils, and various types of nuclear bodies (Figs. 1a-c). Of these structures, all have been reasonably well characterized structurally and functionally except for nuclear bodies. The most common types of nuclear bodies are simple nuclear bodies and coiled bodies (Figs. 1a,c). Since nuclear bodies are small in size (0.2-1.0 μm in diameter) and infrequent in number, they are often overlooked or simply not observed in any random thin section. The rat liver hepatocyte in Fig. 1b is a case in point. Historically, nuclear bodies are more prominent in hyperactive cells, they often occur in proximity to nucleoli (Fig. 1c), and sometimes they are observed to “bud off” from the nucleolar surface.


Author(s):  
M. Boublik ◽  
W. Hellmann ◽  
F. Jenkins

Correlations between structure and function of biological macromolecules have been studied intensively for many years, mostly by indirect methods. High resolution electron microscopy is a unique tool which can provide such information directly by comparing the conformation of biopolymers in their biologically active and inactive state. We have correlated the structure and function of ribosomes, ribonucleoprotein particles which are the site of protein biosynthesis. 70S E. coli ribosomes, used in this experiment, are composed of two subunits - large (50S) and small (30S). The large subunit consists of 34 proteins and two different ribonucleic acid molecules. The small subunit contains 21 proteins and one RNA molecule. All proteins (with the exception of L7 and L12) are present in one copy per ribosome.This study deals with the changes in the fine structure of E. coli ribosomes depleted of proteins L7 and L12. These proteins are unique in many aspects.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Erickson-Levendoski ◽  
Mahalakshmi Sivasankar

The epithelium plays a critical role in the maintenance of laryngeal health. This is evident in that laryngeal disease may result when the integrity of the epithelium is compromised by insults such as laryngopharyngeal reflux. In this article, we will review the structure and function of the laryngeal epithelium and summarize the impact of laryngopharyngeal reflux on the epithelium. Research investigating the ramifications of reflux on the epithelium has improved our understanding of laryngeal disease associated with laryngopharyngeal reflux. It further highlights the need for continued research on the laryngeal epithelium in health and disease.


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