Platelet activation is a key process in blood clot formation. During activation, platelets go through both chemical and physical changes, including secretion of chemical messengers and cellular shape change. Platelet shape change is mediated by the two major cytoskeletal elements in platelets, the actin matrix and microtubule ring. Most studies to date have evaluated these structures qualitatively, whereas this paper aims to provide a quantitative method of examining changes in these structures by fluorescently labeling the element of interest and performing single cell image analysis. The method described herein tracks the diameter of the microtubule ring and the circumference of the actin matrix as they change over time. Platelets were incubated with a series of drugs that interact with tubulin or actin, and the platelets were observed for variation in shape change dynamics throughout the activation process. Differences in shape change mechanics due to drug incubation were observable in each case.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00216-015-8523-7 | DOI Listing |
Mol Biol Evol
January 2025
Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University.
Copy-number variants (CNVs) are an important class of genetic variation that can mediate rapid adaptive evolution. Whereas CNVs can increase the relative fitness of the organism, they can also incur a cost due to the associated increased gene expression and repetitive DNA. We previously evolved populations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae over hundreds of generations in glutamine-limited (Gln-) chemostats and observed the recurrent evolution of CNVs at the GAP1 locus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJpn J Ophthalmol
January 2025
Department of Ophthalmology, Kyorin University School of Medicine, 6-20-2 Shinkawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-8611, Japan.
Purpose: Chemical chelation with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is an established treatment for calcific band keratopathy (CBK), whereas removal of calcium deposits from the subepithelial layer of the cornea may cause corneal irregularity. Using Fourier harmonic analysis, we analyzed the corneal topography in eyes with CBK treated by EDTA chelation.
Study Design: Retrospective, single-center study.
Lab Chip
January 2025
Oulu Center for Cell-Matrix Research, Biocenter Oulu and Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland.
A novel microfluidic platform was designed to study the cellular architecture of endothelial cells (ECs) in an environment replicating the 3D organization and flow of blood vessels. In particular, the platform was constructed to investigate EC defects in slow-flow venous malformations (VMs) under varying shear stress and flow conditions. The platform featured a standard microtiter plate footprint containing 32 microfluidic units capable of replicating wall shear stress (WSS) in normal veins and enabling precise control of shear stress and flow directionality without the need for complex pumping systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmall
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Aerospace Materials and Performance (Ministry of Education) School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University, No.37 Xueyuan Road, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China.
A reasonable construction of hollow structures to obtain high-performance absorbers is widely studied, but it is still a challenge to select suitable materials to improve the low-frequency attenuation performance. Here, the FeO@C@NiO nanoprisms with unique tip shapes, asymmetric multi-path hollow cavity, and core-shell heteroepitaxy structure are designed and synthesized based on anisotropy and intrinsic physical characteristics. Impressively, by changing the load of NiO, the composites achieve strong absorption, broadband, low-frequency absorption: the reflection loss of -55.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobiol Spectr
January 2025
Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China.
Animal skin acts as the barrier against invasion by pathogens and microbial colonizers. Environmental microbiota plays a significant role in shaping these microbial communities, which, in turn, have profound implications for host health. Previous research has focused on characterizing microorganisms on bats' skin and in their roosting environments, particularly bacterial communities.
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