Category Archives: Cell Biology

Gene therapy allows ‘deaf’ mice to hear – Wired.co.uk

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Hearing loss affects millions of people around the world, and in around half of those cases the root cause is genetic. Now, medical researchers have been able to restore the hearing and balance in mice by inserting mutated genes into their bodies. Two papers published in the Nature Biotechnology journal describe the results.

"We demonstrate recovery of gene and protein expression, restoration of sensory cell function, rescue of complex auditory function and recovery of hearing and balance behaviour to near wild-type levels," otolaryngologists from the Harvard Medical School say in the research paper.

It says the work shows an "unprecedented recovery of inner ear function" and claims the "biological therapies to treat deafness may be suitable for translation to humans".

During the work, young mice were used to prove the method works. The mice had been artificially administered with Usher syndrome type IC, which in human children causes deafness, balance dysfunction, and blindness.

Most people born with type I and type II Usher syndrome suffer with severe to profound hearing loss as well as vision problems. Those with type III experience hearing loss later in life. The work from the Harvard medical academics focussed purely on the hearing loss aspect of the syndrome.

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To tackle the deafness, the research team injected a synthetic version of the adeno-associated virus - which has very little impact on humans - into the ears of mice. Within the virus was a normal copy of the mutated Ush1c gene, which causes deafness in the syndrome. It was the first time scientists have been able to find a virus that can enter the inner ear and deliver genes to the inner and outer hair cells needed for normal hearing ability.

"Delivery of a normal copy of the mutated gene, Ush1c, to the cochlea soon after the mice were born led to high levels of Ush1c protein in outer and inner hair cells, repair of damaged hair cell bundles, and a robust improvement in hearing and balance behaviour, enabling profoundly deaf mice to hear sounds at the level of whispers," a statement published alongside the research said.

"They can restore the hearing defect by the gene transfer," Andrew Forge an emeritus professor of auditory cell biology at University College London and author on the first Nature paper, tells WIRED.

Ruth Taylor, another UCL researcher involved in the work, tested the gene transfer method with human tissue. Using vestibular tissue the UCL academics were able to show the virus could transfer the gene to the human tissue in culture. "They did a lot of proof of concept in mice," Forge says. "The bit we did is the extra bit to show this could work in people."

He explains the work - and the field in general - is trying to answer one big question: "Can you manipulate the system to cure things that are wrong?"

Forge adds: "These kinds of therapies, if there is going to be a therapy, will be the way it is going to be working".

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Gene therapy allows 'deaf' mice to hear - Wired.co.uk

Cell Biology Program | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Research activities cover the following areas:

Signal transduction pathways initiated at the cell surface mediate a cells response to the external environment. These affect all aspects of cell behavior, such as the decision to divide and proliferate, to die, to differentiate, or to migrate from one location to another. All research groups in the program have an interest in signal transduction pathways, though with an emphasis on different biological contexts.

The cell division cycle and its regulation by intrinsic and extrinsic factors are of major interest to investigators in this program. The ability to divide inappropriately is the defining feature of cancer cells and it is essential to identify how this process is normally controlled if we are to understand what goes wrong in the disease.

Stem cells divide to produce another stem cell and a daughter cell that looses its ability to divide as it takes on specialized functions. Defects in this differentiation program are a common feature of cancer cells and researchers in the Cell Biology Program are exploring factors involved in this process.

Cell death, through apoptosis, is a major decision that cells take if they find themselves in inappropriate surroundings, or if they are subjected to serious damage. The loss of this fail-safe device is thought to be a major step in most, if not all cancers.

Cells adopt defined shapes that are essential for their specialized functions and this often involves interactions with other cells to form organized tissues and organs. Disruption of normal cell-cell interactions is a key step leading to the process of metastasis that is seen in late stages of cancer.

One of the most striking features of normal embryonic development is the large-scale movements and migrations of cells as they reorganize to form the different body compartments. Outside of the immune system, cell migrations in the adult are normally restricted to localized areas within tissues. A feature of late-stage cancers is metastasis - the ability of cells to migrate inappropriately to other areas of the body - and this is responsible for the majority of cancer deaths.

Animal models have proved invaluable in identifying new molecules that control different aspects of cell biology as well as for observing the effects of specific molecular alterations on cell behavior in a physiological context. Research groups in Cell Biology are using animal models to explore cancer cell biology.

Members of the Cell Biology Program are seeking to translate the knowledge gained from basic research into concrete diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.

Link:
Cell Biology Program | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Life Science Reference – Biology Online

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Life Science Reference - Biology Online

Molecular Biology of the Cell

Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC) is an online journal published twice monthly and owned by the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB). Unredacted accepted manuscripts are freely accessible immediately through MBoC in Press. Final published versions are freely accessible two months after publication at http://www.molbiolcell.org. MBoC is also available online through PubMed Central, sponsored by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Access earlier than two months is available through subscription or membership in the ASCB.

Last updated: December 5, 2016

January 1992 - December 2016

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Molecular Biology of the Cell

Department of Cell Biology

Inhibitory synapses act as the brakes in the brain, preventing it from becoming overexcited. Researchers thought they were less sophisticated than their excitatory counterparts because relatively few proteins were known to exist at these structures. But a new study by the Soderling Lab, published Sept. 9 in Science, overturns that assumption, uncovering 140 proteins that have never been mapped to inhibitory synapses. Its like these proteins were locked away in a safe for over 50 years, and we believe that our study has cracked open the safe, said the studys senior investigator Scott Soderling, an Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Neurobiology at Duke. And theres a lot of gems. In particular, 27 of these proteins have already been implicated by genome-wide association studies as having a role in autism, intellectual disability and epilepsy, Soderling said, suggesting that their mechanisms at the synapse could provide new avenues to the understanding and treatment of these disorders. You can read more about this research on Duke Today.

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Department of Cell Biology

Cell biology – Wikipedia

Cell biology (formerly called cytology, from the Greek , kytos, "vessel") is a branch of biology that studies the different structures and functions of the cell and focuses mainly on the idea of the cell as the basic unit of life. Cell biology explains the structure, organization of the organelles they contain, their physiological properties, metabolic processes, signaling pathways, life cycle, and interactions with their environment. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level as it encompasses prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells. Knowing the components of cells and how cells work is fundamental to all biological sciences; it is also essential for research in bio-medical fields such as cancer, and other diseases. Research in cell biology is closely related to genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, and developmental biology.

The study of the cell is done on a molecular level; however, most of the processes within the cell are made up of a mixture of small organic molecules, inorganic ions, hormones, and water. Approximately 75-85% of the cells volume is due to water making it an indispensable solvent as a result of its polarity and structure.[1] These molecules within the cell, which operate as substrates, provide a suitable environment for the cell to carry out metabolic reactions and signalling. The cell shape varies among the different types of organisms, and are thus then classified into two categories: eukaryotes and prokaryotes. In the case of eukaryotic cells - which are made up of animal, plant, fungi, and protozoa cells - the shapes are generally round and spherical,[2] while for prokaryotic cells which are composed of bacteria and archaea - the shapes are: spherical (cocci), rods (bacillus), curved (vibrio), and spirals (spirochetes).[3]

Cell biology focuses more on the study of eukaryotic cells, and their signalling pathways, rather than on prokaryotes which is covered under microbiology. The main constituents of the general molecular composition of the cell includes: proteins and lipids which are either free flowing or membrane bound, along with different internal compartments known as organelles. This environment of the cell is made up of hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions which allows for the exchange of the above-mentioned molecules and ions. The hydrophilic regions of the cell are mainly on the inside and outside of the cell, while the hydrophobic regions are within the phospholipid bilayer of the cell membrane. The cell membrane consists of lipids and proteins which accounts for its hydrophobicity as a result of being non-polar substances.[1] Therefore, in order for these molecules to participate in reactions, within the cell, they need to be able to cross this membrane layer to get into the cell. They accomplish this process of gaining access to the cell via: osmotic pressure, diffusion, concentration gradients, and membrane channels. Inside of the cell are extensive internal sub-cellular membrane-bounded compartments called organelles.

cell surface membrane protects the cell

The growth process of the cell does not refer to the size of the cell, but instead the density of the number of cells present in the organism at a given time. Cell growth pertains to the increase in the number of cells present in an organism as it grows and develops; as the organism gets larger so too does the number of cells present. Cells are the foundation of all organisms, they are the fundamental unit of life. The growth and development of the cell are essential for the maintenance of the host, and survival of the organisms. For this process the cell goes through the steps of the cell cycle and development which involves cell growth, DNA replication, cell division, regeneration, specialization, and cell death. The cell cycle is divided into four distinct phases, G1, S, G2, and M. The G phases which is the cell growth phase - makes up approximately 95% of the cycle.[4] The proliferation of cells is instigated by progenitors, the cells then differentiate to become specialized, where specialized cells of the same type aggregate to form tissues, then organs and ultimately systems.[1] The G phases along with the S phase DNA replication, damage and repair - are considered to be the interphase portion of the cycle. While the M phase (mitosis and cytokinesis) is the cell division portion of the cycle.[4] The cell cycle is regulated by a series of signalling factors and complexes such as CDK's, kinases, and p53. to name a few. When the cell has completed its growth process, and if it is found to be damaged or altered it undergoes cell death, either by apoptosis or necrosis, to eliminate the threat it cause to the organisms survival.

Cells may be observed under the microscope, using several different techniques; these include optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, and confocal microscopy.

There are several different methods used in the study of cells:

Purification of cells and their parts Purification may be performed using the following methods:

Practical job applications for a degree in Cell Molecular Biology includes the following.[7]

Excerpt from:
Cell biology - Wikipedia

Cell Biology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine

BMP and retinoic acid regulate anterior-posterior patterning of the non-axial mesoderm across the dorsal-ventral axis.

Naylor RW, Skvarca LB, Thisse C, Thisse B, Hukriede NA, Davidson AJ. Nat Commun. 2016 Jul 13;7:12197. doi: 10.1038/ncomms12197. PMID:27406002

Shetty J, Sinville R, Shumilin IA, Minor W, Zhang J, Hawkinson JE, Georg GI, Flickinger CJ, Herr JC Jan 4;121:88-96. doi: 10.1016/j.pep.2016.01.009. PMID:26777341

Fang X, Zhang B, Thisse B, Bloom GS, Thisse C. Cytoskeleton (Hoboken). 2015 Aug;72(8):422-33. doi: 10.1002/cm.21237. Epub 2015 Sep 7

James A. Simmonsa, Ryan S. D'Souzaa, Margarida Ruasb, Antony Galioneb, James E. Casanovaa and Judith M. White Journal of Virology, Aptil 2016

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Cell Biology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine

Rader’s BIOLOGY 4 KIDS.COM – Biology basics for everyone!

What is biology? Well... Here's our best definition: Biology is the study of life and the changes that take place with and around all living things. The study of life extends far beyond Earth. Biology covers every planet and object in the Universe.

In the same way that everything on Earth is made of atoms, everything that is alive on Earth is made of cells. An entire living thing can be one cell or it can be billions. Most cells on Earth have similar pieces and parts. Let's get started and look inside cell structure. Go take a look!

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