Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bernhard A. Kramer, Jacobo Sarabia Del Castillo, Lucas Pelkmans
Summary: Individual cells can make decisions based on their internal state and surroundings, but it is still unclear how they can do this reliably. To investigate the information processing capacity of human cells, the researchers conducted a study on signaling responses and cellular state markers. The results showed that signaling nodes in the network displayed adaptive information processing, leading to heterogeneous growth factor responses and enabling cells to capture partially nonredundant information about their state. This demonstrates that individual cells have a large information processing capacity to accurately interpret growth factor concentration in the context of their cellular state and make decisions accordingly. The heterogeneity and complexity in signaling networks may have coevolved to facilitate specific and context-aware decision-making in multicellular settings.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiangnan Wang, Xin Yi, Zhimei Huang, Jianjun He, Zhenkun Wu, Xia Chu, Jian-Hui Jiang
Summary: In this study, a repaired and activated DNAzyme (RADzyme) was developed by incorporating single methyl lesions at designated positions. This technology allowed the development of a fluorogenic RADzyme sensor for monitoring DNA repair, facilitating evaluation of repair activity in different cells and under drug treatment. This strategy provides a simple and versatile tool for the study of DNA repair biology, clinical diagnosis, and therapeutic assessment.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zefan Li, Jing Zhang, Hui-wang Ai
Summary: UDP-GlcNAc is a nucleotide sugar essential for synthesizing glycoproteins and plays a central role in connecting nutrition, metabolism, signaling, and disease. Researchers have developed genetically encoded fluorescent sensors for monitoring UDP-GlcNAc dynamics in live mammalian cells, as well as another biosensor responsive to UDP and UTP but not UDP-GlcNAc. These biosensors have been used to track UDP-GlcNAc levels in cultured mammalian cells under different conditions.
ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Spectroscopy
Lingling Zhang, Mengwen Yi, Shilong Zhong, Jing Liu, Xiangjun Liu, Tao Bing, Nan Zhang, Yongbiao Wei, Dihua Shangguan
Summary: The viscosity of the cell microenvironment is crucial for maintaining normal cellular activities, with abnormal viscosity in mitochondria linked to various diseases. Novel p-aminostyryl thiazole orange derivatives have been developed, showing good fluorescence response to viscosity and potential for monitoring mitochondrial viscosity changes and investigating physiological processes related to inflammation and lipid metabolism.
SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA PART A-MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Steven H. Huang, Jiaruo Li, Zhiyuan Fan, Robert Delgado, Gennady Shvets
Summary: The application of plasmonic metasurfaces in MEIRS has enabled a highly informative analytic technique for real-time monitoring of cells, allowing for label-free phenotypic assays and spectro-chemical imaging at the single-cell level. This metasurface-based all-optical sensor provides a scalable, high-throughput spectroscopic assay for live cells.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Ling Lin, Weiwei Li, Xiaorui Wang, Yaoshuang Xie, Yuxuan Li, Zengnan Wu
Summary: Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture provides a simple microspheroid model for recapitulating the native biological microenvironment of cells. In this study, functional liquid crystal (LC) core/hydrogel shell microcapsules were developed using droplet microfluidic technology to monitor live cells in a 3D microenvironment. This novel method allows for simultaneous 3D cell culture and visual monitoring of the cell microenvironment.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Ling Lin, Weiwei Li, Xiaorui Wang, Yaoshuang Xie, Yuxuan Li, Zengnan Wu
Summary: Three-dimensional cell culture can mimic the native microenvironment of cells. This study developed functional liquid crystal core/hydrogel shell microcapsules to monitor the microenvironment of live cells in a 3D model.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Lin Zhou, Chuanhao Liu, Ying Zheng, Zhenlong Huang, Xinfu Zhang, Yi Xiao
Summary: A versatile NO-sensing toolbox based on a bio-orthogonal concept using tetrazine and strained alkyne BCN as key components is proposed in this study to simplify the detection of NO in specific subcellular areas. The toolbox includes a general NO probe TMR-Tz-NO that can be coupled with various targeting groups for mitochondria, lysosomes, and membranes, enabling the imaging of NO in different cellular compartments.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Physics, Applied
Yonggang Yang, Yang Liu, Beidou Feng, Chaochao Qin, Tiantian Guan, Ge Wang, Hua Zhang, Yufang Liu
Summary: Transient absorption (TA) signals, with real-time multi-signals and high sensitivity, are less disturbed by the biological environment compared to single fluorescence signals. Intelligently regulated probes (1-VBM and 1-VBH) were designed and synthesized to utilize time-resolved excited-state absorption (ESA) and stimulated emission (SE) signals in TA spectroscopy. The ESA signals in TA spectroscopy are reliable markers for detecting viscosity in biological samples and can be a potential tool for clinical diagnosis.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Niv Ierushalmi, Kinneret Keren
Summary: Symmetry breaking is crucial for the formation of cell structure and function, enabling cell movement, division, and polarity establishment. The mechanisms of symmetry breaking, while diverse, often share common characteristics like nematic, polar, and chiral cytoskeletal symmetry breaking in animal cells. These mechanisms involve both chemical and mechanical processes that cooperate to break symmetry in a robust manner.
CURRENT OPINION IN CELL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Xi Chen, Zhongwei Jiang, Ling Liang, Yuan Fang Li, Cheng Zhi Huang, Peng Fei Gao
Summary: By utilizing the Au NBPs@ZIF-8 nanoprobe, the fluctuation of ATP level in living cells can be monitored with high sensitivity, selectivity, and biocompatibility. This method demonstrates a good linear relationship, low detection limit, and excellent selectivity, allowing for effective observation of intracellular ATP changes.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Hanchuang Zhu, Xue Zhang, Caiyun Liu, Yan Zhang, Meijun Su, Xiaodi Rong, Xin Wang, Mengyuan Liu, Xiaohui Zhang, Wenlong Sheng, Baocun Zhu
Summary: This study developed a fluorescent probe CB-NIR for the real-time reversible detection of volatile SO2 and FA, with many optical advantages.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ganapathy Sriram, Lauren E. Milling, Jung-Kuei Chen, Yi Wen Kong, Brian A. Joughin, Wuhbet Abraham, Susanne Swartwout, Erika D. Handly, Darrell J. Irvine, Michael B. Yaffe
Summary: Creating a live, injured tumor cell adjuvant through DNA damage enhances the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade treatment, offering a strategy to improve the therapeutic effects on tumor types that do not respond to ICB alone.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhihui Liu, Michael J. Kruhlak, Carol J. Thiele
Summary: Zinc finger transcription factor CASZ1b is essential for nervous system development and suppresses neuroblastoma growth. Our study investigates the recruitment of CASZ1b to sites of DNA damage, showing that CASZ1b is transiently recruited to these sites and that its recruitment is dependent on PARP and specific DNA binding motifs. Loss of CASZ1b increases cell sensitivity to DNA damage induced by gamma irradiation and suggests a role for CASZ1b in regulating DNA repair efficiency during development and tumorigenesis.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Wang Wan, Wenhan Jin, Yanan Huang, Quxuan Xia, Yulong Bai, Haochen Lyu, Dongning Liu, Xuepeng Dong, Weiling Li, Yu Liu
Summary: The noncovalent, cell-permeable, and fluorogenic sensor reported here can reversibly bind to proteome amorphous aggregates in live cells, allowing for dynamic detection of both the formation and clearance of aggregated proteome. This sensor is optimized from fluorescent protein chromophores, enabling it to detect the transition from liquid-to-liquid phase separation to liquid-to-solid phase separation in cellular stresses. Overall, this sensor serves as a facile tool to screen therapeutic drugs and identify cellular pathways that ameliorate pathogenic proteome aggregation in live-cell models.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anne Pora, Sungjun Yoon, Georg Dreissen, Bernd Hoffmann, Rudolf Merkel, Reinhard Windoffer, Rudolf E. Leube
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
S. M. Lehmann, R. E. Leube, R. Windoffer
Summary: Intermediate filament polypeptides (IFPs) are dynamic components of cytoplasmic aggregates, with recent studies showing their rapid turnover. The study on epithelial cells producing mutant keratin IFPs provides insights into the lifecycle and motility of these aggregates. Inhibition of myosin II has been demonstrated to selectively reduce granule movement, linking keratin granule motility to retrograde cortical acto-myosin flow.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Laura Bornes, Reinhard Windoffer, Rudolf E. Leube, Jessica Morgner, Jacco van Rheenen
Summary: Research has shown that during re-epithelialization, keratinocytes adopt a strategy to bypass obstacles in order to quickly reestablish the protective skin barrier.
LIFE SCIENCE ALLIANCE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marcin Moch, Rudolf E. Leube
Summary: The study demonstrated that inhibition of actin and tubulin polymerization in human keratinocytes led to reorganization of the keratin network, with distinct outcomes in each situation. The findings indicate that simultaneous inhibition of actin and tubulin polymerization can dissect hemidesmosome-specific functions for keratin network properties, highlighting the unique mechanobiological role of hemidesmosomal adhesion in keratin network formation and organization.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Anna K. Sternberg, Volker U. Buck, Irmgard Classen-Linke, Rudolf E. Leube
Summary: The human endometrium exhibits exceptional plasticity with significant influences from cellular mechanics in growth, differentiation, and tissue remodeling processes. Sensing and responding to mechanical forces are as crucial as biochemical signaling for cell behavior, impacting endometrial cell behavior during the menstrual cycle and embryo implantation. Advanced technologies have furthered our understanding of how mechanical forces regulate endometrial receptivity and blastocyst implantation in the human uterus.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hoda Moazzen, Kateryna Venger, Sebastian Kant, Rudolf E. Leube, Claudia A. Krusche
Summary: Defects in Dsg2 lead to abnormal cardiac development, resulting in pericardial hemorrhage and myocardial rupture. Abnormal cell clusters, categorized as Type A and Type B, have different effects on heart development. Structural defects in cardiomyocytes are primary to the observed pathogenesis.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Reinhard Windoffer, Nicole Schwarz, Sungjun Yoon, Teodora Piskova, Michael Scholkemper, Johannes Stegmaier, Andrea Boensch, Jacopo Di Russo, Rudolf E. Leube
Summary: Mechanobiology relies on precise quantitative information in specific 3D microenvironments. Establishing 3D maps of the cytoskeleton is particularly challenging for biophysical modeling, especially for intermediate filament organization.
Article
Cell Biology
Mark Pitsch, Sebastian Kant, Corinna Mytzka, Rudolf E. Leube, Claudia A. Krusche
Summary: This study investigated the temporal and spatial expression patterns of autophagy and ER/SR stress indicators in murine AC models. The findings suggest that locally altered autophagy and enhanced ER/SR stress play a role in AC pathogenesis both at the onset and during chronic progression.
Article
Cell Biology
Sonia Ratajczyk, Corinne Drexler, Reinhard Windoffer, Rudolf E. Leube, Peter Fuchs
Summary: Epiplakin (EPPK1) dynamically relocalizes and associates with keratin filaments to stabilize the keratin network under stress conditions, which involves an increase in cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels.
Article
Biology
Florian Geisler, Sanne Remmelzwaal, Vera Jankowski, Ruben Schmidt, Mike Boxem, Rudolf E. Leube
Summary: Using Caenorhabditis elegans, researchers have identified the IF polypeptide IFB-2 as an efficient suppressor of structural and functional deficiencies in mutants that disrupt the organization of the intestinal IF cytoskeleton. This rescue capability is specific to IF isotypes and extends to mutants that disrupt the function of other cytoskeletal proteins. The findings provide strong evidence for the adverse consequences of deranged IF networks, with implications for diseases characterized by altered IF network organization.
Review
Cell Biology
Hoda Moazzen, Mistura Dolapo Bolaji, Rudolf E. Leube
Summary: Desmosomes have a crucial role in maintaining tissue integrity in mechanically stressed organs, like the heart. Deficiencies in desmosomal proteins contribute to the development of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Understanding the impact of desmosome deficiency on different cell types within the heart is essential for developing effective interventions and therapeutic strategies. This review specifically focuses on the effects of desmosome deficiency on epi- and endocardial cells, emphasizing the intricate interactions between desmosomal protein mutations and signaling pathways.
Review
Cell Biology
Jacopo Di Russo, Thomas M. Magin, Rudolf E. Leube
Summary: We suggest that the human body can be seen as a textile structure composed of interconnected fiber systems, forming highly dynamic scaffolds that respond to environmental changes at different scales. This is particularly important at the junctions between epithelial cells and connective tissue regions exposed to dynamic microenvironments. We propose a keratin code hypothesis, stating that the heterogeneity and adaptability of epithelial tissues are based on cell-specific expression and posttranslational modification of keratin isotypes, defining unique cytoskeletal intermediate filament networks that are connected across cells and to the diverse fibers of the underlying extracellular matrix.
CURRENT OPINION IN CELL BIOLOGY
(2023)