The anticancer properties of iron core-gold shell nanoparticles in colorectal cancer cells.

Previously, iron core-gold shell nanoparticles (Fe@Au) have been shown to possess cancer-preferential cytotoxicity in oral and colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. However, CRC cell lines are less sensitive to Fe@Au treatment when compared with oral cancer cell lines. In this research, Fe@Au are found to decrease the cell viability of CRC cell lines, including Caco-2, HT-29, and SW480, through growth inhibition rather than the induction of cell death.

GM1 expression in caco-2 cells: characterisation of a fundamental passage-dependent transformation of a cell line.

Caco-2 cells, which are known to spontaneously differentiate in cell culture, adopt typical epithelial characteristics and are widely used as a model to study cellular uptake, transport and metabolism processes. However, groups of flat and undifferentiated cells have been observed amid differentiating Caco-2 cell monolayers. In this study, we isolated and characterised these morphologically distinct, flat and island-forming Caco-2 cells.

Caveolae and caveolin-1 in reptilian liver.

Caveolae are plasma-membrane invaginations that, by interacting with membrane-associated molecules such as endothelial nitric oxide synthase and tyrosine kinases, precisely regulate cell-signalling pathways responsible for cell structure and cell function. Indeed, there is widespread evidence that caveolae associate, structurally and functionally, with proteins, lipids and solutes to facilitate transcellular transport of these macromolecules. Caveolin-1, one of the family of membrane proteins that form caveolae, is most prominently expressed in endothelial cells of the vascular bed.

Multifaceted nature of membrane microdomains in colorectal cancer.

Membrane microdomains or lipid rafts are known to be highly dynamic and to act as selective signal transduction mediators that facilitate interactions between the cell's external and internal environments. Lipid rafts play an important mediating role in the biology of cancer: they have been found in almost all existing experimental cancer models, including colorectal cancer (CRC), and play key regulatory roles in cell migration, metastasis, cell survival and tumor progression. This paper explores the current state of knowledge in this field by highlighting some of the pioneering and recent lipid raft studies performed on different CRC cell lines and human tissue samples.

Multi-dimensional correlative imaging of subcellular events: combining the strengths of light and electron microscopy.

To genuinely understand how complex biological structures function, we must integrate knowledge of their dynamic behavior and of their molecular machinery. The combined use of light or laser microscopy and electron microscopy has become increasingly important to our understanding of the structure and function of cells and tissues at the molecular level. Such a combination of two or more different microscopy techniques, preferably with different spatial- and temporal-resolution limits, is often referred to as 'correlative microscopy'.

Unlocking the ultrastructure of colorectal cancer cells in vitro using selective staining.

Aim: To characterise differences between three widely used colorectal cancer cell lines using ultrastructural selective staining for glycogen to determine variation in metastatic properties.

Methods: Transmission electron microscopy was used in this investigation to help identify intracellular structures and morphological features which are precursors of tumor invasion. In addition to morphological markers, we used selective staining of glycogen as a marker for neoplastic cellular proliferation and determined whether levels of glycogen change between the three different cell lines.

Three-dimensional organization of fenestrae labyrinths in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells.

Background/aims: Liver sinusoidal endothelial cell (LSEC) fenestrae are membrane-bound pores that are grouped in sieve plates and act as a bidirectional guardian in regulating transendothelial liver transport. The high permeability of the endothelial lining is explained by the presence of fenestrae and by various membrane-bound transport vesicles. The question as to whether fenestrae relate to other transport compartments remains unclear and has been debated since their discovery almost 40 years ago.

Monitoring membrane rafts in colorectal cancer cells by means of correlative fluorescence electron microscopy (CFEM).

Detergent-resistant membrane (DRM) rafts have been shown to play a pivotal role in regulating key cell biological processes, such as signal transduction, cellular transport and cell survival. The fine structure of membrane rafts are studied using various different imaging approaches and the outcomes are largely dependent on the detection methodology applied. All these microscopy techniques which employ light-, laser- and photon-optics, electrons as well as atomic force probing are characterized on their turn by their strengths and limitations for membrane raft identification.