PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

A deeper understanding of how cells move and stick together

The way cells adhere to surfaces is an important element in allowing them to form cohesive tissues. A new study looks at how cells stick to a surface and spread across it

2021-05-07
(Press-News.org) Observing how cells stick to surfaces and their motility is vitally important in the study of tissue maintenance, wound healing and even understanding how cancers progress. A new paper published in EPJ Plus, by Raj Kumar Sadhu, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, takes a step towards a deeper understanding of these processes.

"Cell adhesion is the ability of a cell to stick to another cell or an extracellular matrix. This process is important in order to understand how cells interact and coordinate their behaviour in multicellular organisms," says sadhu. "We theoretically model the adhesion of a cell-like vesicle by describing the cell as a three-dimensional vesicle adhering on a flat substrate with a constant adhesion interaction."

Alongside his co-authors, Sadhu set about exploring the role of membrane-bound curvature sensitive proteins and the forces that act on the cytoskeleton?--?the network of interlinking protein filaments found in the cytoplasm of all cells?--?during the adhesion process. The team discovered that curved proteins enhance the adhesion process considerably, especially when coupled with active cytoskeleton forces.

"Our work shows that the curved membrane proteins, coupled with the pushing force due to the cytoskeleton, can play a key role in the cell adhesion process," adds Sadhu. "In addition, we showed that these minimal ingredients are sufficient to produce a motile shape that closely resembles migrating cells. Our present work will motivate more research in this direction."

One aspect of the research that pleasantly surprised the team was the fact that the relatively simple model they created could not just describe cell adhesion, but also allowed them to capture cell movement as well. The resultant paper belongs to the Topical Collection 'Focus Point on Mechanobiology across Scales,' edited by M. Ben Amar, A. Boudaoud and M. Lenz.

"Physical principles of shape, curvature and forces, combine to give living cells their shapes," concludes Sadhu. "We show that the cells can have a variety of dynamic shapes, which spontaneously arise due to physical principles, and control the function of the cells in our bodies."

The team will seek to improve on this current study by examining the adhesion of cells on more complex surfaces. This will include curved surfaces, those with adhesion gradients, and others upon which adhesive elements are temporary.

INFORMATION:

References Sadhu. R. K., Penic. S., Iglic. A., Gov. N. S. (2021), Modelling cellular spreading and emergence of motility in the presence of curved membrane proteins and active cytoskeleton forces, Eur. Phys. J. Plus 136:495, DOI 10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-01433-9



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Possible origin of neuroblastoma in the adrenal glands discovered

2021-05-07
Neuroblastoma is a childhood cancer, most commonly affecting children aged between 2 -3 and can be fatal. Since the tumour cells resemble certain cells in the adrenal glands, a joint research group from MedUni Vienna's Center for Brain Research and the Swedish Karolinska Institute investigated the cellular origin of these cells and sympathetic neurons during the embryonic development of human adrenal glands. During the course of their investigations, they discovered a previously unknown cell type that might potentially be the origin of the tumour cells. Treatments for this disease are extremely aggressive and challenging ...

Novel matrix-based slow-release urea improves crop production

Novel matrix-based slow-release urea improves crop production
2021-05-07
The applied nitrogen in crop production is easily lost through ammonia emission and nitrogen leaching. Therefore, many attempts have been made on the development of novel slow-release fertilizers to reduce nitrogen loss and improve crop production. A research team led by Prof. WU Yuejin from the Institute of Intelligent Machines of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science developed a novel matrix-based slow-release urea (MSU) recently to improve nitrogen use efficiency in rice production, and they assessed the performances of it. "MSU is a promising fertilizer for rice production," said WU, "as less nitrogen loss and greater soil nitrogen ...

Breakthrough thanks to helices made of nickel

2021-05-07
Physicists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have for the first time been able to prove a long-predicted but as yet unconfirmed fundamental effect. In Faraday chiral anisotropy, the propagation characteristics of light waves are changed simultaneously by the natural and magnetic-field induced material properties of the medium through which the light travels. The researchers obtained proof that this is the case by conducting experiments using nickel helices at the nanometre scale. Their findings have now been published in the academic journal 'Physical Review Letters'. Light is transmitted as sine waves consisting of crossed electric and magnetic fields and interacts with matter. This ...

New antibody rationally designed for better tumor inhibition

New antibody rationally designed for better tumor inhibition
2021-05-07
Recently, Prof. XIE Can from the High Magnetic Field Laboratory of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), in a collaboration with Prof. YAN Xiyun's lab from the Institute of Biophysics, reported the structural basis of mAb AA98's inhibition on CD146-mediated endothelial cells (EC) activation and designed higher affinity monoclonal antibody HA98 for cancer treatment. CD146 is an adhesion molecule that plays important roles in angiogenesis, cancer metastasis, and immune response. Prof. YAN Xiyun's lab has been focused on the function of CD146 and the mechanism ...

New weather warning gauge

2021-05-07
Australia, the driest inhabited continent, is prone to natural disasters and wild swings in weather conditions - from floods to droughts, heatwaves and bushfires. Now two new Flinders University studies of long-term hydro-climatic patterns provide fresh insights into the causes of the island continent's strong climate variability which affect extreme wet or dry weather and other conditions vital to water supply, agriculture, the environment and the nation's future. For the first time, researchers from the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT) at Flinders have revealed a vegetation-mediated seesaw wetting-drying phenomenon between eastern and western Australia. ...

The first hydroxide conductivity in anion conducting polymer thin films

The first hydroxide conductivity in anion conducting polymer thin films
2021-05-07
Ishikawa, Japan - As decarbonization progresses rapidly in the world, fuel cells offer potentially higher electrical efficiency than conventional power-generating systems. Anion exchange membrane fuel cells offer advantages of using non-precious metal catalysts than proton exchange membrane fuel cells. One of the challenges of this next-generation fuel cell is to clarify the hydroxide ion conductivity in the ion conductive polymer around the electrode catalyst. The difficulty of studying the hydroxide ion conductivity at the electrode interface is that the hydroxide ion, which is a carrier, easily reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. To solve this problem, all evaluation devices were improved so that the sample did not come into contacting with air. In a new study published ...

Distinct cell-to-cell communication processes controlled differently

Distinct cell-to-cell communication processes controlled differently
2021-05-07
Cells talk to each other to coordinate nutrition, waste removal, energy use, and, in some cases, disease progression. The cells that line the surfaces of organs or specific tissues, called epithelial cells, appear to speak two different languages - one for either side of the cell, according to a new study by researchers based in Japan. The discovery, published on March 16 in EMBO Reports, could have implications for understanding how cancer spreads and, potentially, for advanced treatments, the team says. The team, led by Mitsunori Fukuda, professor in the Laboratory of Membrane Trafficking Mechanisms, Department of Integrative ...

Exercise can help support recovery of patients with lasting COVID symptoms, study finds

2021-05-07
Patients with lasting symptoms of COVID-19 who completed a six week, supervised rehabilitation programme demonstrated significant improvements in exercise capacity, respiratory symptoms, fatigue and cognition, according to researchers at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre - a partnership between Leicester's Hospitals, the University of Leicester and Loughborough University. The study, which is published in the journal Chronic Respiratory Disease today (Friday 7 May 2021), followed thirty patients who took part in face-to-face ...

The African wild dog: An ambassador for the world's largest terrestrial conservation area

The African wild dog: An ambassador for the worlds largest terrestrial conservation area
2021-05-07
Dispersal is an important process governing the persistence of wild animal populations. Upon reaching sexual maturity, individuals usually disperse from their natal home range to search for suitable habitat and mates for reproduction. As such, dispersal promotes gene flow among populations, allows rescuing small and isolated populations, and enables the colonization of unoccupied habitats. In human-dominated landscapes, however, dispersing animals find it increasingly difficult to cross densely populated areas that separate suitable habitats. For this reason, the identification and preservation of wildlife corridors has become of utmost importance for conservation authorities worldwide. In southern Africa, the governments ...

Soybean and linseed oils added to cows' diet improve the quality of milk

2021-05-07
Inclusion of soybean and linseed oils in the diet of dairy cows made the fatty acid content of their milk even healthier for human nutrition. It also increased the proportions of omega-6 and omega-3, which in the right balance play a key role in preventing cardiovascular diseases, for example, as well as chronic inflammation and some kinds of cancer. Cardiovascular diseases are one of the world’s main public health problems. In Brazil, they are among the foremost causes of death. Each year some 300,000 Brazilians have heart attacks, dying in 30% of cases, according to the Health Ministry. Research led by Arlindo Saran Netto, a professor at the University of São Paulo’s School of Animal Science and Food Engineering (FZEA-USP) in Pirassununga, São Paulo ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

CMD-OPT model enables the discovery of a potent and selective RIPK2 inhibitor as preclinical candidate for the treatment of acute liver injury

Melatonin receptor 1a alleviates sleep fragmentation-aggravated testicular injury in T2DM by suppression of TAB1/TAK1 complex through FGFR1

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals Shen-Bai-Jie-Du decoction retards colorectal tumorigenesis by regulating the TMEM131–TNF signaling pathway-mediated differentiation of immunosuppressive dendritic ce

Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B Volume 15, Issue 7 Publishes

New research expands laser technology

Targeted radiation offers promise in patients with metastasized small cell lung cancer to the brain

A high clinically translatable strategy to anti-aging using hyaluronic acid and silk fibroin co-crosslinked hydrogels as dermal regenerative fillers

Mount Sinai researchers uncover differences in how males and females change their mind when reflecting on past mistakes

CTE and normal aging are difficult to distinguish, new study finds

Molecular arms race: How the genome defends itself against internal enemies

Tiny chip speeds up antibody mapping for faster vaccine design

KTU experts reveal why cultural heritage is important for community unity

More misfolded proteins than previously known may contribute to Alzheimer’s and dementia

“Too much going on”: Autistic adults overwhelmed by non-verbal social cues

What’s driving America’s deep freezes in a warming world?

A key role of brain protein in learning and memory is deciphered by scientists

Heart attacks don’t follow a Hollywood script

Erin M. Schuman wins 2026 Nakasone Award for discovery on neural synapse function and change during formation of memories

Global ocean analysis could replace costly in-situ sound speed profiles in seafloor positioning, study finds

Power in numbers: Small group professional coaching reduces rates of physician burnout by nearly 30%

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage: A comprehensive review of CCUS-EOR

New high-temperature stable dispersed particle gel for enhanced profile control in CCUS applications

State gun laws and firearm-related homicides and suicides

Use of tobacco and cannabis following state-level cannabis legalization

Long-term obesity and biological aging in young adults

Eindhoven University of Technology and JMIR Publications announce unlimited open access publishing agreement

Orphan nuclear receptors in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease development

A technological breakthrough for ultra-fast and greener AI

Pusan National University researchers identify key barriers hindering data-driven smart manufacturing adoption

Inking heterometallic nanosheets: A scalable breakthrough for coating, electronics, and electrocatalyst applications

[Press-News.org] A deeper understanding of how cells move and stick together
The way cells adhere to surfaces is an important element in allowing them to form cohesive tissues. A new study looks at how cells stick to a surface and spread across it