Biophysica最新文献_第3页

Microgravity as an Anti-Metastatic Agent in an In Vitro Glioma Model 微重力作为体外胶质瘤模型的抗转移剂

Biophysica Pub Date : 2023-11-25 DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3040043

Maurizio Sabbatini, Valentina Bonetto, Valeria Magnelli, C. Lorusso, Francesco Dondero, Maria Angela Masini

{"title":"Microgravity as an Anti-Metastatic Agent in an In Vitro Glioma Model","authors":"Maurizio Sabbatini, Valentina Bonetto, Valeria Magnelli, C. Lorusso, Francesco Dondero, Maria Angela Masini","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3040043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3040043","url":null,"abstract":"Gravity is a primary physical force that has a profound influence on the stability of the cell cytoskeleton. In our research, we investigated the influence of microgravity on altering the cytoskeletal pathways of glioblastoma cells. The highly infiltrative behavior of glioblastoma is supported by cytoskeletal dynamics and surface proteins that allow glioblastoma cells to avoid stable connections with the tissue environment and other cells. Glioblastoma cell line C6 was exposed to a microgravity environment for 24, 48, and 72 h by 3D-RPM, a laboratory instrument recognized to reproduce the effect of microgravity in cell cultures. The immunofluorescence for GFAP, vinculin, and Connexin-43 was investigated as signals related to cytoskeleton dynamics. The polymerization of GFAP and the expression of focal contact structured by vinculin were found to be altered, especially after 48 and 72 h of microgravity. Connexin-43, involved in several intracellular pathways that critically promote cell motility and invasion of glioma cells, was found to be largely reduced following microgravity exposure. In conclusion, microgravity, by reducing the expression of Connexin-43, alters the architecture of specific cytoskeletal elements such as GFAP and increases the focal contact, which can induce a reduction in glioma cell mobility, thereby inhibiting their aggressive metastatic behavior.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139238322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Investigating the Insertion Mechanism of Cell-Penetrating Peptide Penetratin into Cell Membranes: Implications for Targeted Drug Delivery 研究细胞穿透肽穿透素进入细胞膜的插入机制:对靶向药物递送的意义

Biophysica Pub Date : 2023-11-11 DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3040042

Bashiyar Almarwani, Yahia Z. Hamada, Nsoki Phambu, Anderson Sunda-Meya

{"title":"Investigating the Insertion Mechanism of Cell-Penetrating Peptide Penetratin into Cell Membranes: Implications for Targeted Drug Delivery","authors":"Bashiyar Almarwani, Yahia Z. Hamada, Nsoki Phambu, Anderson Sunda-Meya","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3040042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3040042","url":null,"abstract":"The cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) penetratin (PEN) has garnered attention for its potential to enter tumor cells. However, its translocation mechanism and lack of selectivity remain debated. This study investigated PEN’s insertion into healthy cells (H-) and cancer cells (C-) using micromolar concentrations and various techniques. Raman spectroscopy was used to determine PEN’s location in the lipid bilayer at different lipid-to-peptide ratios. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potential analysis were used to measure the lipid–PEN complex’s size and charge. The results showed helical PEN particles directly inserted into C- membranes at a ratio of 110, while aggregated particles stayed on H- surfaces. Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy confirmed PEN insertion in C- membranes. Zeta potential studies revealed highly negative charges for PEN–C- complexes and neutral charges for PEN–H- complexes at pH 6.8. C- integrity remained unchanged at a ratio of 110. Specific lipid-to-peptide ratios with dipalmitoylphosphatidylserine (DPPS) were crucial for direct insertion. These results provide valuable insights into CPP efficacy for targeted drug delivery in cancer cells, considering membrane composition and lipid-to-peptide ratios.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135086874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Physical Virology in Spain 西班牙的物理病毒学

Biophysica Pub Date : 2023-10-31 DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3040041

David Reguera, Pedro J. de Pablo, Nicola G. A. Abrescia, Mauricio G. Mateu, Javier Hernández-Rojas, José R. Castón, Carmen San Martín

{"title":"Physical Virology in Spain","authors":"David Reguera, Pedro J. de Pablo, Nicola G. A. Abrescia, Mauricio G. Mateu, Javier Hernández-Rojas, José R. Castón, Carmen San Martín","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3040041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3040041","url":null,"abstract":"Virus particles consist of a protein coat that protects their genetic material and delivers it to the host cell for self-replication. Understanding the interplay between virus structure and function is a requirement for understanding critical processes in the infectious cycle such as entry, uncoating, genome metabolism, capsid assembly, maturation, and propagation. Together with well-established techniques in cell and molecular biology, physical virology has emerged as a rapidly developing field, providing detailed, novel information on the basic principles of virus assembly, disassembly, and dynamics. The Spanish research community contains a good number of groups that apply their knowledge on biology, physics, or chemistry to the study of viruses. Some of these groups got together in 2010 under the umbrella of the Spanish Interdisciplinary Network on Virus Biophysics (BioFiViNet). Thirteen years later, the network remains a fertile ground for interdisciplinary collaborations geared to reveal new aspects on the physical properties of virus particles, their role in regulating the infectious cycle, and their exploitation for the development of virus-based nanotechnology tools. Here, we highlight some achievements of Spanish groups in the field of physical virology.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135870248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Elucidating the Influence of Lipid Composition on Bilayer Perturbations Induced by the N-Terminal Region of the Huntingtin Protein 阐明脂质组成对亨廷顿蛋白n端诱导的双分子层扰动的影响

Biophysica Pub Date : 2023-10-28 DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3040040

Yasith Indigahawela Gamage, Jianjun Pan

{"title":"Elucidating the Influence of Lipid Composition on Bilayer Perturbations Induced by the N-Terminal Region of the Huntingtin Protein","authors":"Yasith Indigahawela Gamage, Jianjun Pan","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3040040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3040040","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the membrane interactions of the N-terminal 17 residues of the huntingtin protein (HttN) is essential for unraveling its role in cellular processes and its impact on huntingtin misfolding. In this study, we used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to examine the effects of lipid specificity in mediating bilayer perturbations induced by HttN. Across various lipid environments, the peptide consistently induced bilayer disruptions in the form of holes. Notably, our results unveiled that cholesterol enhanced bilayer perturbation induced by HttN, while phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) lipids suppressed hole formation. Furthermore, anionic phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and cardiolipin lipids, along with cholesterol at high concentrations, promoted the formation of double-bilayer patches. This unique structure suggests that the synergy among HttN, anionic lipids, and cholesterol can enhance bilayer fusion, potentially by facilitating lipid intermixing between adjacent bilayers. Additionally, our AFM-based force spectroscopy revealed that HttN enhanced the mechanical stability of lipid bilayers, as evidenced by an elevated bilayer puncture force. These findings illuminate the complex interplay between HttN and lipid membranes and provide useful insights into the role of lipid composition in modulating membrane interactions with the huntingtin protein.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136232004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Fractal Dimension Analyses to Detect Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases Using Their Thin Brain Tissue Samples via Transmission Optical Microscopy 分形维数分析通过透射光学显微镜检测阿尔茨海默病和帕金森病的薄脑组织样本

Biophysica Pub Date : 2023-10-26 DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3040039

Ishmael Apachigawo, Dhruvil Solanki, Ruth Tate, Himanshi Singh, Mohammad Moshahid Khan, Prabhakar Pradhan

{"title":"Fractal Dimension Analyses to Detect Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases Using Their Thin Brain Tissue Samples via Transmission Optical Microscopy","authors":"Ishmael Apachigawo, Dhruvil Solanki, Ruth Tate, Himanshi Singh, Mohammad Moshahid Khan, Prabhakar Pradhan","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3040039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3040039","url":null,"abstract":"Biological tissues in nature are fractal due to their self-similarity and porosity properties. These properties change with the progress of some diseases, including brain tissue in leading neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Thus, there is an unmet clinical need to develop a tool for accurate and early diagnosis of AD and PD conditions. Although the whole brain tissues in AD and PD have been extensively studied, their local structural alterations at the nano-to-submicron levels have not been explored. In this paper, we measure the local structural alterations in different brain regions of AD and PD patients by measuring their change in fractal dimensions via optical microscopy. Our results show an increase in the fractal dimension value of ~5–10% in the affected regions of the brain tissues relative to their respective controls. For AD cases, the structural alteration is attributed to the aberrant deposition of amyloid beta protein and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, and for PD, the gradual loss of dopaminergic neurons and abnormal accumulation of α-synuclein in the brain. The work will enhance the further understanding of alterations in the brain structures in AD and PD and its detection.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134908793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Inactivating Host Bacteria for Characterization and Use of Phages 灭活宿主细菌用于噬菌体的表征和应用

Biophysica Pub Date : 2023-09-27 DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3040038

James P. Chambers, Elena T. Wright, Barbara Hunter, Philip Serwer

{"title":"Inactivating Host Bacteria for Characterization and Use of Phages","authors":"James P. Chambers, Elena T. Wright, Barbara Hunter, Philip Serwer","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3040038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3040038","url":null,"abstract":"Phage characterization for research and therapy can involve newly isolated phages propagated in pathogenic bacteria. If so, characterization requires safety-managing the bacteria. In the current study, we adapt a common and inexpensive reagent, PrimeStore (Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics, San Antonio, TX, USA), to safety-manage bacteria in 20 min by selectively inactivating the bacteria. No bacterial survivors are observed among >109 bacteria per ml for a representative of both Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus thuringiensis). This procedure causes no detected inactivation of podophage T3, myophage T4 and siphophage 0105phi7-2. Margins of safety for PrimeStore concentration exist for bacterial inactivation and phage non-inactivation. Thus, general applicability is expected. Subsequent dialysis is used to block long-term effects on phages. Nonetheless, comparable tests should be performed for each pathogenic bacterial strain/phage. Electron microscopy of thin sections reveals inactivation-altered bacterial cytoplasm and a non-disintegrated bacterial envelope (ghosts). Ghosting of E. coli includes re-arrangement of the cytoplasm and the release of endotoxin. The activity of the released endotoxin is >99% reduced after subsequent dialysis, which also removes PrimeStore components. Ghosting of B. thuringiensis includes apparent phase separation within the cytoplasm. The primary application envisaged is biophysical and other screening of phages for therapy of infectious disease.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135539152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

A Dynamic Representation of mRNA Nucleotides Clarifies the Conundrum of Codon Redundancy mRNA核苷酸的动态表示阐明了密码子冗余的难题

Biophysica Pub Date : 2023-09-11 DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3030037

Daniele Funaro

引用次数: 0

Detecting Molecular Folding from Noise Measurements 从噪声测量中检测分子折叠

Biophysica Pub Date : 2023-09-05 DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3030036

Marc Rico-Pasto, F. Ritort

引用次数: 0

Probing Biochemical Differences in Lipid Components of Human Cells by Means of ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy ATR-FTIR光谱法检测人细胞脂质成分的生化差异

Biophysica Pub Date : 2023-09-01 DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3030035

M. Portaccio, B. Faramarzi, Maria Lepore

{"title":"Probing Biochemical Differences in Lipid Components of Human Cells by Means of ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy","authors":"M. Portaccio, B. Faramarzi, Maria Lepore","doi":"10.3390/biophysica3030035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica3030035","url":null,"abstract":"Infrared spectroscopy has emerged as a promising technique for studying the composition of biological samples like lipids that play important roles in cellular functions and are involved in various diseases. For this reason, lipids are a target of interest in many biomedical studies. The objective of the present study is to utilize Fourier-Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to examine the main lipid components of human cells (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol, C18 ceramide, sphingosine-1-phosphate, ceramide-1-phosphate, sphingomyelin, cholesterol, and triolein). FT-IR analysis on the previously mentioned lipid samples was performed in Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) mode. The obtained spectra clearly evidence the contributions of the different functional groups that are present in the examined samples. Detailed assignments of spectral features were carried out in agreement with the literature. Similarities and differences among the different types of commercial lipid samples are evidenced and discussed, with particular attention to phospholipid and sphingolipid components. A quantitative analysis of phosphatidylinositol and sphingomyelin spectra using a ratiometric approach is reported. Moreover, a reconstruction procedure of FT-IR spectra of complex lipids useful for chemometrics applications is described. These representative examples of the potential use of the results of the present study can certainly contribute to a larger use of FT-IR spectroscopy in lipidomics.","PeriodicalId":72401,"journal":{"name":"Biophysica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48369377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Beta-Caryophyllene Induces Significant Changes in the Lipid Bilayer at Room and Physiological Temperatures: ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy Studies β-石竹烯在室温和生理温度下诱导脂质双层发生显著变化的ATR-FTIR光谱研究

Biophysica Pub Date : 2023-08-30 DOI: 10.3390/biophysica3030033

I. Yakimov, I. Kolmogorov, I. Le-Deygen

引用次数: 0