scholarly journals Regulation of Actin Bundle Mechanics and Structure by Intracellular Environmental Factors

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Castaneda ◽  
Jinho Park ◽  
Ellen Hyeran Kang
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Macromolecular Crowding ◽  
Organization Structure ◽  
Cell Physiology ◽  
Cellular Motility ◽  
Ordered Structures ◽  
Actin Bundle ◽  
Structural Support ◽  
Cellular Processes

The mechanical and structural properties of actin cytoskeleton drive various cellular processes, including structural support of the plasma membrane and cellular motility. Actin monomers assemble into double-stranded helical filaments as well as higher-ordered structures such as bundles and networks. Cells incorporate macromolecular crowding, cation interactions, and actin-crosslinking proteins to regulate the organization of actin bundles. Although the roles of each of these factors in actin bundling have been well-known individually, how combined factors contribute to actin bundle assembly, organization, and mechanics is not fully understood. Here, we describe recent studies that have investigated the mechanisms of how intracellular environmental factors influence actin bundling. This review highlights the effects of macromolecular crowding, cation interactions, and actin-crosslinking proteins on actin bundle organization, structure, and mechanics. Understanding these mechanisms is important in determining in vivo actin biophysics and providing insights into cell physiology.

scholarly journals Methods to Investigate miRNA Function: Focus on Platelet Reactivity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alix Garcia ◽  
Sylvie Dunoyer-Geindre ◽  
Richard J. Fish ◽  
Marguerite Neerman-Arbez ◽  
Jean-Luc Reny ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Function ◽  
Platelet Reactivity ◽  
Cell Physiology ◽  
Plasma Samples ◽  
Small Noncoding Rnas ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Extraction And Purification ◽  
Large Panel

AbstractMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs modulating protein production. They are key players in regulation of cell function and are considered as biomarkers in several diseases. The identification of the proteins they regulate, and their impact on cell physiology, may delineate their role as diagnostic or prognostic markers and identify new therapeutic strategies. During the last 3 decades, development of a large panel of techniques has given rise to multiple models dedicated to the study of miRNAs. Since plasma samples are easily accessible, circulating miRNAs can be studied in clinical trials. To quantify miRNAs in numerous plasma samples, the choice of extraction and purification techniques, as well as normalization procedures, are important for comparisons of miRNA levels in populations and over time. Recent advances in bioinformatics provide tools to identify putative miRNAs targets that can then be validated with dedicated assays. In vitro and in vivo approaches aim to functionally validate candidate miRNAs from correlations and to understand their impact on cellular processes. This review describes the advantages and pitfalls of the available techniques for translational research to study miRNAs with a focus on their role in regulating platelet reactivity.

scholarly journals Chemical-Biology-derived in vivo Sensors: Past, Present, and Future

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 1017-1021
Author(s):  
Robbie Loewith ◽  
Aurélien Roux ◽  
Olivier Pertz
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Biology ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Molecular Probes ◽  
Cell Physiology ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Macromolecular Assemblies ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
High Dimensional Datasets

To understand the complex biochemistry and biophysics of biological systems, one needs to be able to monitor local concentrations of molecules, physical properties of macromolecular assemblies and activation status of signaling pathways, in real time, within single cells, and at high spatio-temporal resolution. Here we look at the tools that have been / are being / need to be provided by chemical biology to address these challenges. In particular, we highlight the utility of molecular probes that help to better measure mechanical forces and flux through key signalling pathways. Chemical biology can be used to both build biosensors to visualize, but also actuators to perturb biological processes. An emergent theme is the possibility to multiplex measurements of multiple cellular processes. Advances in microscopy automation now allow us to acquire datasets for 1000's of cells. This produces high dimensional datasets that require computer vision approaches that automate image analysis. The high dimensionality of these datasets are often not immediately accessible to human intuition, and, similarly to 'omics technologies, require statistical approaches for their exploitation. The field of biosensor imaging is therefore experiencing a multidisciplinary transition that will enable it to realize its full potential as a tool to provide a deeper appreciation of cell physiology.

Specific Labeling of Protein Domains with Antibody Fragments

1981 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 416-417
Author(s):  
U. Aebi ◽  
L.E. Buhle ◽  
W.E. Fowler
Keyword(s):  
Image Processing ◽  
Specific Protein ◽  
Antibody Fragments ◽  
Supramolecular Organization ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Ordered Structures ◽  
Virus Capsids ◽  
Processing Techniques

Many important supramolecular structures such as filaments, microtubules, virus capsids and certain membrane proteins and bacterial cell walls exist as ordered polymers or two-dimensional crystalline arrays in vivo. In several instances it has been possible to induce soluble proteins to form ordered polymers or two-dimensional crystalline arrays in vitro. In both cases a combination of electron microscopy of negatively stained specimens with analog or digital image processing techniques has proven extremely useful for elucidating the molecular and supramolecular organization of the constituent proteins. However from the reconstructed stain exclusion patterns it is often difficult to identify distinct stain excluding regions with specific protein subunits. To this end it has been demonstrated that in some cases this ambiguity can be resolved by a combination of stoichiometric labeling of the ordered structures with subunit-specific antibody fragments (e.g. Fab) and image processing of the electron micrographs recorded from labeled and unlabeled structures.

miR-125b enhances metastasis and progression of cancer via the TXNIP and HIF1α pathway in pancreatic cancer

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Pengli Wang ◽  
Dan Zheng ◽  
Hongyang Qi ◽  
Qi Gao
Keyword(s):  
Pancreatic Cancer ◽  
Hypoxia Inducible Factor ◽  
Immunofluorescence Assay ◽  
Luciferase Assay ◽  
Interacting Protein ◽  
Over Expression ◽  
Thioredoxin Interacting Protein ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
And Migration

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play potential role in the development of various types of cancer conditions including pancreatic cancer (PC) targeting several cellular processes. Present study was aimed to evaluate function of miR-125b and the mechanism involved in PC. METHODS: Cell migration, MTT and BrdU study was done to establish the migration capability, cell viability and cell proliferation respectively. Binding sites for miR-125b were recognized by luciferase assay, expression of protein by western blot and immunofluorescence assay. In vivo study was done by BALB/c nude xenograft mice for evaluating the function of miR-125b. RESULTS: The study showed that expression of miR-125b was elevated in PC cells and tissues, and was correlated to proliferation and migration of cells. Also, over-expression of miR-125b encouraged migration, metastasis and proliferation of BxPC-3 cells, the suppression reversed it. We also noticed that thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) was the potential target of miR-125b. The outcomes also suggested that miR-125b governed the expression of TXNIP inversely via directly attaching to the 3′-UTR activating hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α). Looking into the relation between HIF1α and TXNIP, we discovered that TXNIP caused the degradation and export of HIF1α by making a complex with it. CONCLUSION: The miR-125b-TXNIP-HIF1α pathway may serve useful strategy for diagnosing and treating PC.

scholarly journals Fibrosis after Myocardial Infarction: An Overview on Cellular Processes, Molecular Pathways, Clinical Evaluation and Prognostic Value

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Renato Francesco Maria Scalise ◽  
Rosalba De Sarro ◽  
Alessandro Caracciolo ◽  
Rita Lauro ◽  
Francesco Squadrito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Myocardial Infarction ◽  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Ventricular Dysfunction ◽  
Healing Process ◽  
Molecular Signaling ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Molecular Signaling Pathways ◽  
Fibrotic Scar ◽  
Life Threatening

The ischemic injury caused by myocardial infarction activates a complex healing process wherein a powerful inflammatory response and a reparative phase follow and balance each other. An intricate network of mediators finely orchestrate a large variety of cellular subtypes throughout molecular signaling pathways that determine the intensity and duration of each phase. At the end of this process, the necrotic tissue is replaced with a fibrotic scar whose quality strictly depends on the delicate balance resulting from the interaction between multiple actors involved in fibrogenesis. An inflammatory or reparative dysregulation, both in term of excess and deficiency, may cause ventricular dysfunction and life-threatening arrhythmias that heavily affect clinical outcome. This review discusses cellular process and molecular signaling pathways that determine fibrosis and the imaging technique that can characterize the clinical impact of this process in-vivo.

scholarly journals Zebrafish Models of Autosomal Recessive Ataxias

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 836
Author(s):  
Ana Quelle-Regaldie ◽  
Daniel Sobrido-Cameán ◽  
Antón Barreiro-Iglesias ◽  
María Jesús Sobrido ◽  
Laura Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Animal Models ◽  
Autosomal Recessive ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
System Development ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Nervous System Development ◽  
Central Nervous System Development ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Recessive Disorders

Autosomal recessive ataxias are much less well studied than autosomal dominant ataxias and there are no clearly defined systems to classify them. Autosomal recessive ataxias, which are characterized by neuronal and multisystemic features, have significant overlapping symptoms with other complex multisystemic recessive disorders. The generation of animal models of neurodegenerative disorders increases our knowledge of their cellular and molecular mechanisms and helps in the search for new therapies. Among animal models, the zebrafish, which shares 70% of its genome with humans, offer the advantages of being small in size and demonstrating rapid development, making them optimal for high throughput drug and genetic screening. Furthermore, embryo and larval transparency allows to visualize cellular processes and central nervous system development in vivo. In this review, we discuss the contributions of zebrafish models to the study of autosomal recessive ataxias characteristic phenotypes, behavior, and gene function, in addition to commenting on possible treatments found in these models. Most of the zebrafish models generated to date recapitulate the main features of recessive ataxias.

scholarly journals A Decade of Imaging Cellular Motility and Interaction Dynamics in the Immune System

Science ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 336 (6089) ◽  
pp. 1676-1681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald N. Germain ◽  
Ellen A. Robey ◽  
Michael D. Cahalan
Keyword(s):  
Lymph Nodes ◽  
Live Cell Imaging ◽  
Quantitative Measurement ◽  
Cell Imaging ◽  
Plasma Cells ◽  
Effector T Cells ◽  
Cellular Interactions ◽  
Cellular Motility ◽  
Response Dynamics

To mount an immune response, lymphocytes must recirculate between the blood and lymph nodes, recognize antigens upon contact with specialized presenting cells, proliferate to expand a small number of clonally relevant lymphocytes, differentiate to antibody-producing plasma cells or effector T cells, exit from lymph nodes, migrate to tissues, and engage in host-protective activities. All of these processes involve motility and cellular interactions—events that were hidden from view until recently. Introduced to immunology by three papers in this journal in 2002, in vivo live-cell imaging studies are revealing the behavior of cells mediating adaptive and innate immunity in diverse tissue environments, providing quantitative measurement of cellular motility, interactions, and response dynamics. Here, we review themes emerging from such studies and speculate on the future of immunoimaging.

scholarly journals Considerations when investigating lncRNA function in vivo

eLife ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew R Bassett ◽  
Asifa Akhtar ◽  
Denise P Barlow ◽  
Adrian P Bird ◽  
Neil Brockdorff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Normal Cell ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Genomic Locus ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Cell Processes ◽  
Non Coding Rnas ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Dna Regulatory Elements

Although a small number of the vast array of animal long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have known effects on cellular processes examined in vitro, the extent of their contributions to normal cell processes throughout development, differentiation and disease for the most part remains less clear. Phenotypes arising from deletion of an entire genomic locus cannot be unequivocally attributed either to the loss of the lncRNA per se or to the associated loss of other overlapping DNA regulatory elements. The distinction between cis- or trans-effects is also often problematic. We discuss the advantages and challenges associated with the current techniques for studying the in vivo function of lncRNAs in the light of different models of lncRNA molecular mechanism, and reflect on the design of experiments to mutate lncRNA loci. These considerations should assist in the further investigation of these transcriptional products of the genome.

Motility of the Limulus blood cell

1979 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-180
Author(s):  
P.B. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Culture ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Coelomic Fluid ◽  
Cellular Motility ◽  
Paraffin Oil ◽  
Motile Cells ◽  
Direct Microscopic Examination ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Glass Surfaces

The sole cell type (the amoebocyte) found in the coelomic fluid of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus can be stimulated to become motile by extravasation or trauma. Motility was studied using time-lapse microcinematography and direct microscopic examination of cells in tissue culture and in gill leaflets isolated from young animals. Phase-contrast and Nomarski differential-interference contrast optics were employed. Both in culture and in the gills, motile cells showed 2 interconvertible morphological types: the contracted cell, which was compact and rounded and had a relatively small area of contact with the substratum, and a flattened from with a larger area of contact. In both morphological types, motility involved the protrusion of hyaline pseudopods followed by flow of granular endoplasm forward in the pseudoplod. Cellular motility in vivo (in the gill leaflet) was morphologically identical to that displayed in tissue culture. In culture, motility was unaffected by the nature of the substratum: cells were indistinguishable on fluid (paraffin oil) or solid (glass) substrata or on hydrophobic (paraffin oil, siliconized glass) or hydrophilic (clean glass) surfaces. Cells migrated and spread on agar surfaces. Cell motility was unaffected by high concentrations (100 micrograms/ml) of the microtubule-depolymerizing agent colcemid and was abolished by cytochalasin B at 1 microgram/ml.

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