Cells are crowded microenvironments filled with macromolecules undergoing constant phys- ical and chemical interactions. The physicochemical makeup of the cells aff）cts various cellular responses, determines cell-cel...Cells are crowded microenvironments filled with macromolecules undergoing constant phys- ical and chemical interactions. The physicochemical makeup of the cells aff）cts various cellular responses, determines cell-cell interactions and influences cell decisions. Chemical and physical properties diff）r between cells and within cells. Moreover, these properties are subject to dynamic changes in response to environmental signals, which often demand adjustments in the chemical or physical states of intracellular molecules. Indeed, cellular responses such as gene expression rely on the faithful relay of information from the outside to the inside of the cell, a process terrned signal transduction. The signal often traverses a complex path across subcellular spaces with variable physical chemistry, sometimes even influencing it. Understanding the molecular states of such signaling molecules and their intracellular environments is vital to our understanding of the cell. Exploring such intricate spaces is possible today largely because of experimental and theoretical tools. Here, we focus on one tool that is commonly used in chemical physics studies light. We summarize recent work which uses light to both visualize the cellular environment and also control intracel- lular processes along the axis of signal transduction. We highlight recent accomplishments in optical microscopy and optogenetics, an emerging experimental strategy which utilizes light to control the molecular processes in live cells. We believe that optogenetics lends un- precedented spatiotemporal precision to the manipulation of physicochemical properties in biological contexts. We hope to use this work to demonstrate new opportunities for chemical physicists who are interested in pursuing biological and biomedical questions.展开更多
Hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection is one of the major problems that threatens global health. There have been many studies on HBV, but the relationship between HBV and host factors is largely unexplored and more studies...Hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection is one of the major problems that threatens global health. There have been many studies on HBV, but the relationship between HBV and host factors is largely unexplored and more studies are needed to clarify these interactions. Filamin B is an actin-binding protein that acts as a cytoskeleton protein, and it is involved in cell development and several signaling pathways. In this study, we showed that filamin B interacted with HBV core protein,and the interaction promoted HBV replication. The interaction between filamin B and core protein was observed in HEK293T, Huh7 and HepG2 cell lines by co-immunoprecipitation and co-localization immnofluoresence. Overexpression of filamin B increased the levels of HBV total RNAs and pre-genome RNA(pg RNA), and improved the secretion level of hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg) and hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg). In contrast, filamin B knockdown inhibited HBV replication, decreased the level of HBV total RNAs and pgRNA, and reduced the secretion level of HBsAg and HBeAg. In addition, we found that filamin B and core protein may interact with each other via four blocks of argentine residues at the C-terminus of core protein. In conclusion, we identify filamin B as a novel host factor that can interact with core protein to promote HBV replication in hepatocytes. Our study provides new insights into the relationship between HBV and host factors and may provide new strategies for the treatment of HBV infection.展开更多
To evaluate the biological safety of manufactured heterologous deproteinized bone and to provide an experimental basis for clinical applications. Methods ： Deproteinized bone （ 10 mm） and leaching liquor were made...To evaluate the biological safety of manufactured heterologous deproteinized bone and to provide an experimental basis for clinical applications. Methods ： Deproteinized bone （ 10 mm） and leaching liquor were made from pig ribs with a series of physical and chemical methods, then were evaluated through acute and subacute toxicity test, hemolysis test, pyrogen test, intracutaneous test, intramuscular implantation test and cytotoxity test. Results ： No obvious toxicity, hemolysis, pyrogenic characteristics, skin irritation, inflammatory reaction after intramusclar implantation and cytotoxity were observed. Conclusions： The heterologous deproteinized bone has good biological safety and meets all the demands of scaffold material for tissue engineering.展开更多
Dear Editor,Actins are a family of essential cytoskeletal proteins involved in nearly all cellular processes（Lambrechts et al.,2004）.Of the six human genes that encode actins,only ACTG1and ACTB are ubiquitously expr...Dear Editor,Actins are a family of essential cytoskeletal proteins involved in nearly all cellular processes（Lambrechts et al.,2004）.Of the six human genes that encode actins,only ACTG1and ACTB are ubiquitously expressed.ACTG1（OMIM#604717）,which is linked to the DFNA20/26 locus,wasidentified in autosomal dominant, non-syndromic hearing loss （NSHL） cases （Baek et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2008; Park et al., 2013; Yuan et al., 2016）. In addition, some ACTG1 （OMIM #614583） mutations are associated with Baraitser-Winter syndrome, which is characterized by developmental delay, facial dysmorphologies, brain malformations, colobomas, and variable hearing loss （Riviere et al., 2012）.展开更多
基金supported by the School of Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
文摘Cells are crowded microenvironments filled with macromolecules undergoing constant phys- ical and chemical interactions. The physicochemical makeup of the cells aff）cts various cellular responses, determines cell-cell interactions and influences cell decisions. Chemical and physical properties diff）r between cells and within cells. Moreover, these properties are subject to dynamic changes in response to environmental signals, which often demand adjustments in the chemical or physical states of intracellular molecules. Indeed, cellular responses such as gene expression rely on the faithful relay of information from the outside to the inside of the cell, a process terrned signal transduction. The signal often traverses a complex path across subcellular spaces with variable physical chemistry, sometimes even influencing it. Understanding the molecular states of such signaling molecules and their intracellular environments is vital to our understanding of the cell. Exploring such intricate spaces is possible today largely because of experimental and theoretical tools. Here, we focus on one tool that is commonly used in chemical physics studies light. We summarize recent work which uses light to both visualize the cellular environment and also control intracel- lular processes along the axis of signal transduction. We highlight recent accomplishments in optical microscopy and optogenetics, an emerging experimental strategy which utilizes light to control the molecular processes in live cells. We believe that optogenetics lends un- precedented spatiotemporal precision to the manipulation of physicochemical properties in biological contexts. We hope to use this work to demonstrate new opportunities for chemical physicists who are interested in pursuing biological and biomedical questions.
基金supported by the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China
文摘Hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection is one of the major problems that threatens global health. There have been many studies on HBV, but the relationship between HBV and host factors is largely unexplored and more studies are needed to clarify these interactions. Filamin B is an actin-binding protein that acts as a cytoskeleton protein, and it is involved in cell development and several signaling pathways. In this study, we showed that filamin B interacted with HBV core protein,and the interaction promoted HBV replication. The interaction between filamin B and core protein was observed in HEK293T, Huh7 and HepG2 cell lines by co-immunoprecipitation and co-localization immnofluoresence. Overexpression of filamin B increased the levels of HBV total RNAs and pre-genome RNA(pg RNA), and improved the secretion level of hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg) and hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg). In contrast, filamin B knockdown inhibited HBV replication, decreased the level of HBV total RNAs and pgRNA, and reduced the secretion level of HBsAg and HBeAg. In addition, we found that filamin B and core protein may interact with each other via four blocks of argentine residues at the C-terminus of core protein. In conclusion, we identify filamin B as a novel host factor that can interact with core protein to promote HBV replication in hepatocytes. Our study provides new insights into the relationship between HBV and host factors and may provide new strategies for the treatment of HBV infection.
文摘To evaluate the biological safety of manufactured heterologous deproteinized bone and to provide an experimental basis for clinical applications. Methods ： Deproteinized bone （ 10 mm） and leaching liquor were made from pig ribs with a series of physical and chemical methods, then were evaluated through acute and subacute toxicity test, hemolysis test, pyrogen test, intracutaneous test, intramuscular implantation test and cytotoxity test. Results ： No obvious toxicity, hemolysis, pyrogenic characteristics, skin irritation, inflammatory reaction after intramusclar implantation and cytotoxity were observed. Conclusions： The heterologous deproteinized bone has good biological safety and meets all the demands of scaffold material for tissue engineering.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81530032)the National Key Basic Research Program of China(2014CB943001)
文摘Dear Editor,Actins are a family of essential cytoskeletal proteins involved in nearly all cellular processes（Lambrechts et al.,2004）.Of the six human genes that encode actins,only ACTG1and ACTB are ubiquitously expressed.ACTG1（OMIM#604717）,which is linked to the DFNA20/26 locus,wasidentified in autosomal dominant, non-syndromic hearing loss （NSHL） cases （Baek et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2008; Park et al., 2013; Yuan et al., 2016）. In addition, some ACTG1 （OMIM #614583） mutations are associated with Baraitser-Winter syndrome, which is characterized by developmental delay, facial dysmorphologies, brain malformations, colobomas, and variable hearing loss （Riviere et al., 2012）.
