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LSPR Biosensing Approach for the Detection of Microtubule Nucleation
摘要： Microtubules are dynamic protein ?laments that are involved in a number of cellular processes. Here, we report the development of a novel localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) biosensing approach for investigating one aspect of microtubule dynamics that is not well understood, namely, nucleation. Using a modi?ed Mie theory with radially variable refractive index, we construct a theoretical model to describe the optical response of gold nanoparticles when microtubules form around them. The model predicts that the extinction maximum wavelength is sensitive to a change in the local refractive index induced by microtubule nucleation within a few tens of nanometers from the nanoparticle surface, but insensitive to a change in the refractive index outside this region caused by microtubule elongation. As a proof of concept to demonstrate that LSPR can be used for detecting microtubule nucleation experimentally, we induce spontaneous microtubule formation around gold nanoparticles by immobilizing tubulin subunits on the nanoparticles. We ?nd that, consistent with the theoretical model, there is a redshift in the extinction maximum wavelength upon the formation of short microtubules around the nanoparticles, but no signi?cant change in maximum wavelength when the microtubules are elongated. We also perform kinetic experiments and demonstrate that the maximum wavelength is sensitive to the microtubule nuclei assembly even when microtubules are too small to be detected from an optical density measurement.
关键词： localized surface plasmon resonance,optical biosensors,gold nanoparticles,microtubule nucleation
更新于2025-11-19 16:56:35
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Step Sizes and Rate Constants of Single-headed Cytoplasmic Dynein Measured with Optical Tweezers
摘要： A power stroke of dynein is thought to be responsible for the stepping of dimeric dynein. However, the actual size of the displacement driven by a power stroke has not been directly measured. Here, the displacements of single-headed cytoplasmic dynein were measured by optical tweezers. The mean displacement of dynein interacting with microtubule was ~8 nm at 100 μM ATP, and decreased sigmoidally with a decrease in the ATP concentration. The ATP dependence of the mean displacement was explained by a model that some dynein molecules bind to microtubule in pre-stroke conformation and generate 8-nm displacement, while others bind in the post-stroke one and detach without producing a power stroke. Biochemical assays showed that the binding affinity of the post-stroke dynein to a microtubule was ~5 times higher than that of pre-stroke dynein, and the dissociation rate was ~4 times lower. Taking account of these rates, we conclude that the displacement driven by a power stroke is 8.3 nm. A working model of dimeric dynein driven by the 8-nm power stroke was proposed.
关键词： power stroke,optical tweezers,ATP,microtubule,dynein
更新于2025-09-23 15:21:21
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In vivo comparison of N-11CH3 vs O-11CH3 radiolabeled microtubule targeted PET ligands
摘要： Altered dynamics of microtubules (MT) are implicated in the pathophysiology of a number of brain diseases. Therefore, radiolabeled MT targeted ligands that can penetrate the blood brain barrier (BBB) may offer a direct and sensitive approach for diagnosis, and assessing the clinical potential of MT targeted therapeutics using PET imaging. We recently reported two BBB penetrating radioligands, [11C]MPC-6827 and [11C]HD-800 as specific PET ligands for imaging MTs in brain. The major metabolic pathway of the above molecules is anticipated to be via the initial labeling site, O-methyl, compared to the N-methyl group. Herein, we report the radiosynthesis of N-11CH3-MPC-6827 and N-11CH3-HD-800 and a comparison of their in vivo binding with the corresponding O-11CH3 analogues using microPET imaging and biodistribution methods. Both O-11CH3 and N-11CH3 labeled MT tracers exhibit high specific binding and brain. The N-11CH3 labeled PET ligands demonstrated similar in vivo binding characteristics compared with the corresponding O-11CH3 labeled tracers, [11C]MPC-6827 and [11C]HD-800 respectively.
关键词： brain,PET,microtubule,tubulin,radiotracer
更新于2025-09-16 10:30:52
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Quercetin encapsulated biodegradable plasmonic nanoparticles for photothermal therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma cells
摘要： Photothermal therapy (PTT) is emerging as an effective treatment modality for cancer due to its non-invasive nature. However, the pro-inflammatory necrotic cell death during PTT limits its successful clinical application. Here, we have developed quercetin (QE) loaded biodegradable plasmonic nanoparticles that can specifically induce apoptosis in cancer cells after PTT. We have synthesized gold-coated liposome (LiposAu) and QE loaded gold-coated liposome (QE-LiposAu) nanoparticles by in situ reduction of chloroauric acid with ascorbic acid in the presence of bare liposomes (Lipos) or QE loaded liposomes (QE-Lipos), respectively. The gold coating was confirmed by transmission electron microscopic analysis, dynamic light scattering, and zeta potential measurements. LiposAu and QE-LiposAu nanoparticles showed a similar level of temperature rise upon 750 nm near-infrared (NIR) laser (650 mW, 3 W cm-2) irradiation. The photothermal conversion efficiency of QE-LiposAu nanoparticles was determined to be ~75%. The efficacy of PTT was found to be dependent on the internalization efficiency of LiposAu nanoparticles in cancer cells. Importantly, QE-LiposAu nanoparticles showed increased PTT efficacy over LiposAu nanoparticles in hepatocellular carcinoma cells (Huh-7). Moreover, QE-LiposAu nanoparticles induced apoptosis-mediated cell death after the PTT, and the extent of apoptosis was significantly higher than the LiposAu nanoparticles in Huh-7 cells. Further, QE-LiposAu nanoparticles-mediated PTT depolymerized microtubules network, suppressed Hsp70 expression, and caused DNA damage. QE-LiposAu nanoparticles were also found to be hemocompatible. The results together suggested that biodegradable QE-LiposAu nanoparticles are promising photothermal agents for cancer therapy.
关键词： heat shock protein,liposome,microtubule,apoptosis,gold nanoparticles,DNA damage,Photothermal therapy
更新于2025-09-12 10:27:22
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Dynamic nanoscale morphology of the ER surveyed by STED microscopy
摘要： The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is composed of interconnected membrane sheets and tubules. Superresolution microscopy recently revealed densely packed, rapidly moving ER tubules mistaken for sheets by conventional light microscopy, highlighting the importance of revisiting classical views of ER structure with high spatiotemporal resolution in living cells. In this study, we use live-cell stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy to survey the architecture of the ER at 50-nm resolution. We determine the nanoscale dimensions of ER tubules and sheets for the first time in living cells. We demonstrate that ER sheets contain highly dynamic, subdiffraction-sized holes, which we call nanoholes, that coexist with uniform sheet regions. Reticulon family members localize to curved edges of holes within sheets and are required for their formation. The luminal tether Climp63 and microtubule cytoskeleton modulate their nanoscale dynamics and organization. Thus, by providing the first quantitative analysis of ER membrane structure and dynamics at the nanoscale, our work reveals that the ER in living cells is not limited to uniform sheets and tubules; instead, we suggest the ER contains a continuum of membrane structures that includes dynamic nanoholes in sheets as well as clustered tubules.
关键词： STED microscopy,Climp63,nanoholes,endoplasmic reticulum,reticulon,microtubule cytoskeleton
更新于2025-09-10 09:29:36
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Effect of Surface Coating of Gold Nanoparticles on Cytotoxicity and Cell Cycle Progression
摘要： Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are usually wrapped with biocompatible polymers in biomedical field, however, the effect of biocompatible polymers of gold nanoparticles on cellular responses are still not fully understood. In this study, GNPs with/without polymer wrapping were used as model probes for the investigation of cytotoxicity and cell cycle progression. Our results show that the bovine serum albumin (BSA) coated GNPs (BSA-GNPs) had been transported into lysosomes after endocytosis. The lysosomal accumulation had then led to increased binding between kinesin 5 and microtubules, enhanced microtubule stabilization, and eventually induced G2/M arrest through the regulation of cadherin 1. In contrast, the bare GNPs experienced lysosomal escape, resulting in microtubule damage and G0/G1 arrest through the regulation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Overall, our findings showed that both naked and BSA wrapped gold nanoparticles had cytotoxicity, however, they affected cell proliferation via different pathways. This will greatly help us to regulate cell responses for different biomedical applications.
关键词： surface biocompatibility,microtubule,proteomics,nanoparticle location,cell cycle
更新于2025-09-04 15:30:14