Enhanced sampling for lipid-protein interactions during membrane dynamics

The inflexible concept of membrane curvature as an independent property of lipid structures is today obsolete.Lipid bilayers behave as many-body entities with emergent properties that depend on their interactions with the environment.In particular,proteins exert crucial actions on lipid molecules that ultimately condition the collective properties of the membranes.In this review,the potential of enhanced molecular dynamics to address cell-biology problems is discussed.The cases of membrane deformation,membrane fusion,and the fusion pore are analyzed from the perspective of the dimensionality reduction by collective variables.Coupled lipid-protein interactions as fundamental determinants of large membrane remodeling events are also commented.Finally,novel strategies merging cell biology and physics are considered as future lines of research.

Freely Available Tool(FAT)for automated quantification of lipid droplets in stained cells

In this study,we propose an automatic procedure for digital image processing.We describe a method that can efficiently quantify and characterize lipid droplets distributions in different cell types in culture.Prospectively,the lipid droplets detection method described in this work could be applied to static or time-lapse data,collected with a simple visible light or fluorescence microscopy equipment.Fully automated algorithms were implemented in Octave,a freely available scientific package.

Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells:from the lab bench to the basic concepts for clinical translation

In the last years,much work has shown that the most effective repair system of the body is represented by stem cells,which are defined as undifferentiated precursors that own unlimited or prolonged self-renewal ability,which also have the potential to transform themselves into various cell types through differentiation.All tissues that form the body contain many different types of somatic cells,along with stem cells that are called‘mesenchymal stem(or stromal)cells’(MSC).In certain circumstances,some of these MSC migrate to injured tissues to replace dead cells or to undergo differentiation to repair it.The discovery of MSC has been an important step in regenerative medicine because of their high versatility.Moreover,the finding of a method to isolate MSC from adipose tissue,so called‘adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells’(ASC),which share similar differentiation capabilities and isolation yield that is greater than other MSC,and less bioethical concerns compared to embryonic stem cells,have created self-praised publicity to procure almost any treatment with them.Here,we review the current techniques for isolation,culture and differentiation of human ASC(hASC),and describe them in detail.We also compile some advantages of the hASC over other stem cells,and provide some concepts that could help finding strategies to promote their therapeutic efficiency.