MSGID: 1:317/3 64acdb45   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Light-activated molecular machines get cells 'talking'    
    Mechanical control over vital cellular processes could revolutionize drug   
   design    
      
     Date:   
         July 10, 2023   
     Source:   
         Rice University   
     Summary:   
         Scientists have used light-activated molecular machines to induce   
         cell- to-cell calcium signaling, revealing a powerful new strategy   
         for drug design. This technology could lead to improved treatments   
         for people with heart problems, digestive issues and more.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   One of the main ways cells "talk" to each other to coordinate essential   
   biological activities such as muscle contraction, hormone release,   
   neuronal firing, digestion and immune activation is through calcium   
   signaling.   
      
   Rice University scientists have used light-activated molecular machines   
   to trigger intercellular calcium wave signals, revealing a powerful   
   new strategy for controlling cellular activity, according to a new study   
   published in Nature Nanotechnology. This technology could lead to improved   
   treatments for people with heart problems, digestive issues and more.   
      
   "Most of the drugs developed up to this point use chemical binding   
   forces to drive a specific signaling cascade in the body," said Jacob   
   Beckham, a chemistry graduate student and lead author on the study. "This   
   is the first demonstration that, instead of chemical force, you can   
   use mechanical force - - induced, in this case, by single-molecule   
   nanomachines -- to do the same thing, which opens up a whole new chapter   
   in drug design."  Scientists used small-molecule-based actuators that   
   rotate when stimulated by visible light to induce a calcium-signaling   
   response in smooth muscle cells.   
      
   We lack conscious control over many of the critical muscles in our   
   body: The heart is an involuntary muscle, and there is smooth muscle   
   tissue lining our veins and arteries, controlling blood pressure and   
   circulation; smooth muscle lines our lungs and intestines and is involved   
   in digestion and breathing. The ability to intervene in these processes   
   with a molecular-level mechanical stimulus could be game-changing.   
      
   "Beckham has shown that we can control, for example, cells' signaling   
   in a heart muscle, which is really interesting," said James Tour, Rice's   
   T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and a professor of materials   
   science and nanoengineering.   
      
   "If you stimulate just one cell in the heart, it will propagate the   
   signal to the neighboring cells, which means you could have targeted,   
   adjustable molecular control over heart function and possibly alleviate   
   arrhythmias," Tour said.   
      
   Activated by quarter-second-long light pulses, the molecular machines   
   allowed scientists to control calcium signaling in a cardiac myocyte   
   cell culture, causing the inactive cells to fire.   
      
   "The molecules essentially served as nano-defibrillators, getting these   
   heart muscle cells to start beating," Beckham said.   
      
   The ability to control cell-to-cell communication in muscle tissue could   
   be useful for the treatment of a wide range of diseases characterized   
   by calcium- signaling dysfunction.   
      
   "A lot of people who are paralyzed have huge digestive problems,"   
   Tour said.   
      
   "It would be a big deal if you could alleviate these issues by causing   
   those relevant muscles to fire without any kind of chemical intervention."   
   The molecule-sized devices activated the same calcium-based cellular   
   signaling mechanism in a live organism, causing whole-body contraction   
   in a fresh-water polyp, or Hydra vulgaris.   
      
   "This is the first example of taking a molecular machine and using it   
   to control an entire functioning organism," Tour said.   
      
   Cellular response varied based on the type and intensity of the mechanical   
   stimulation: Fast, unidirectionally rotating molecular machines   
   elicited intercellular calcium wave signals, while slower speeds and   
   multidirectional rotation did not.   
      
   Moreover, adjusting the intensity of the light allowed scientists to   
   control the strength of the cellular response.   
      
   "This is mechanical action at the molecular scale," Tour said. "These   
   molecules spin at 3 million rotations per second, and because we can   
   adjust the duration and intensity of the light stimulus, we have precise   
   spatiotemporal control over this very prevalent cellular mechanism."   
   The Tour lab has shown in previous research that light-activated molecular   
   machines can be deployed against antibiotic-resistant infectious bacteria,   
   cancer cells and pathogenic fungi.   
      
   "This work expands the capabilities of these molecular machines in a   
   different direction," Beckham said. "What I love about our lab is that   
   we are fearless when it comes to being creative and pursuing projects in   
   ambitious new directions."  "We're currently working towards developing   
   machines activated by light with a better depth of penetration to really   
   actualize the potential of this research.   
      
   We are also looking to get a better understanding of molecular-scale   
   actuation of biological processes."  The research was supported by the   
   Discovery Institute, the Robert A. Welch Foundation (C-2017-20190330),   
   the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, the   
   DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory (Cooperative Agreement W911NF-18-2-0234)   
   and the European Union's Horizon 2020 (Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant   
   agreement 843116).   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Matter_&_Energy   
                   # Biochemistry # Nanotechnology # Optics # Chemistry   
             o Computers_&_Math   
                   # Neural_Interfaces # Spintronics_Research #   
                   Artificial_Intelligence # Mobile_Computing   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Calcium o Protein o User_interface_design o Solar_cell o   
             Engineering o Technology o Nanorobotics o Mobile_phone   
      
   ==========================================================================   
      
    Print   
      
    Email   
      
    Share   
   ==========================================================================   
   ****** 1 ****** ***** 2 ***** **** 3 ****   
   *** 4 *** ** 5 ** Breaking this hour   
   ==========================================================================   
       * Six_Foods_to_Boost_Cardiovascular_Health   
       * Cystic_Fibrosis:_Lasting_Improvement *   
       Artificial_Cells_Demonstrate_That_'Life_...   
      
       * Advice_to_Limit_High-Fat_Dairy_Foods_Challenged   
       * First_Snapshots_of_Fermion_Pairs *   
       Why_No_Kangaroos_in_Bali;_No_Tigers_in_Australia   
       * New_Route_for_Treating_Cancer:_Chromosomes *   
       Giant_Stone_Artefacts_Found:_Prehistoric_Tools   
       * Astonishing_Secrets_of_Tunicate_Origins *   
       Most_Distant_Active_Supermassive_Black_Hole   
      
   Trending Topics this week   
   ==========================================================================   
   SPACE_&_TIME Jupiter Mars NASA MATTER_&_ENERGY Materials_Science   
   Construction Engineering_and_Construction COMPUTERS_&_MATH   
   Artificial_Intelligence Educational_Technology Neural_Interfaces   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Strange & Offbeat   
   ==========================================================================   
   SPACE_&_TIME   
   Quasar_'Clocks'_Show_Universe_Was_Five_Times_Slower_Soon_After_the_Big_Bang   
   First_'Ghost_Particle'_Image_of_Milky_Way   
   Gullies_on_Mars_Could_Have_Been_Formed_by_Recent_Periods_of_Liquid_Meltwater,   
   Study_Suggests MATTER_&_ENERGY   
   Bees_Make_Decisions_Better_and_Faster_Than_We_Do,_for_the_Things_That_Matter_to   
   Them   
   These_Lollipops_Could_'Sweeten'_Diagnostic_Testing_for_Kids_and_Adults_Alike   
   Holograms_for_Life:_Improving_IVF_Success COMPUTERS_&_MATH   
   Number_Cruncher_Calculates_Whether_Whales_Are_Acting_Weirdly   
   AI_Tests_Into_Top_1%_for_Original_Creative_Thinking   
   Researchers_Create_Highly_Conductive_Metallic_Gel_for_3D_Printing Story   
   Source: Materials provided by Rice_University. Original written by Silvia   
   Cernea Clark.   
      
   Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Jacob L. Beckham, Alexis R. van Venrooy, Soonyoung Kim, Gang   
      Li, Bowen   
         Li, Guillaume Duret, Dallin Arnold, Xuan Zhao, John T. Li, Ana   
         L. Santos, Gautam Chaudhry, Dongdong Liu, Jacob T. Robinson,   
         James M. Tour.   
      
         Molecular machines stimulate intercellular calcium waves and   
         cause muscle contraction. Nature Nanotechnology, 2023; DOI:   
         10.1038/s41565-023-01436-w   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230710133056.htm   
      
   --- up 1 year, 19 weeks, 10 hours, 50 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 218/700 226/30 227/114   
   SEEN-BY: 229/110 112 113 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 291/111 292/854   
   SEEN-BY: 298/25 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45 5075/35   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426