BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Author: avacuole

A New Approach to Wound Care

Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have made an incredible contribution to the field of medicine, specifically in wound care and infection detection that does not interfere with the patient’s healing process.

In medicine, wounds are typically treated with a dressing, which is changed often to avoid infection. In order to detect infection, healthcare providers have to frequently open the wound’s covering, which can be painful and can potentially disrupt the healing process. Additionally, each time the wound is opened, the risk of infection is increased. The researchers were alarmed by this issue, and developed a wound dressing comprised of nanocellulose that has the ability to display early signs of infection without further tampering with the wound or lifting the dressing. Daniel Aili, a professor involved in the study, has confidently stated that “being able to see instantly whether a wound has become infected, without having to lift the dressing, opens up for a new type of wound care that can lead to more efficient care and improve life for patients with hard-to-heal wounds. It can also reduce unnecessary use of antibiotics.”

The new wound dressing is made of a tight mesh nanocellulose material, which prevents bacteria and other harmful microbes from entering the wound. However, the mesh-like material allows airflow in, which is critical in the wound healing process. However, if the wound does become infected, the nanocellulose dressing will display a shift in color, notifying healthcare providers that the wound needs care. pH also plays a major role in this creation. Wounds that are not infected maintain a pH value of about 5.5. If an infection occurs, the wound starts to become basic and can increase to a pH value of 8, or higher. The increase in pH occurs because the wound’s bacteria shift their pH to properly fit their optimal growth environment. As we learned in AP Biology class, bacteria and enzymes have an optimal pH level to grow and function. If this level is not maintained, they cannot function properly. So, the bacteria increase their pH in response to infection if the optimal level is compromised. This elevated pH level in the wound can be detected by the nanocellulose dressing before any physical signs of infection.

pH Value Scale

In order to make the nanocellulose display infection with an elevated pH value, the researchers used bromthymol blue, a dye that reacts to a change in pH value. The bromthymol blue shifts from yellow to blue if the pH value increases past 7. The material of the bromthymol was then able to be combined with the dressing material without ruining the nanocellulose. As a result, the researchers successfully developed a safe-to-use, noninvasive wound dressing that will display a blue color if an infection occurs.

Bromothymol blue colors at different pH levels

 

 Cancer Detection Using CRISPR Gene Editing

Currently, many are accustomed to invasive cancer diagnostic methods such as endoscopies, colonoscopies, and mammograms. Driven by the desire to discover new methods, a group of researchers from the American Cancer Society developed an alternative method, which is a significant contribution to cancer detection.

Utilizing CRISPR gene editing as their approach, the group of ACS researchers developed an easy-to-use mechanism for detecting small amounts of cancer in plasma. CRISPR gene editing is a method that scientists and researchers have been using to modify an organism’s DNA. CRISPR gene editing is often done for numerous reasons, such as adding or removing genetic material, creating immune defense systems, and repairing DNA. Their detection method also allows healthcare professionals in diagnostics to decipher between malignant and benign cancer-related molecules that they may discover.

CRISPR Gene-Editing

The first step that the researchers made to develop this approach was to design a CRISPR system that creates a manufactured exosome out of two reporter molecule fragments, which they cut. An exosome is a small vesicle that carries material such as lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids after branching out from a host cell. Exosomes are typically involved in detecting cancerous cells because they provide a glimpse into the host cell they branched out from. Therefore, cancerous cells are shown in their exosomes through biomarkers, like micro RNAs (miRNA). In AP Biology class, microRNAs are described as materials that bind to complementary mRNAs to prevent the translation from occurring. MiRNAs are a recent discovery, identified in 1993. It is now concluded that most gene expression is influenced by them, so the researchers made efficient use of miRNA in their experiment. The two fragments of the reporter molecule came together and interacted with the CRISPR’s materials.

Micro RNA Sequence

The researchers concluded that if the targeted miRNA sequence was evident in the combination, the CRISPR system they made would become activated and cut apart the reporter molecule. The researchers specifically targeted miRNA-21, which is often involved in cancer development. The researchers were able to detect miRNA within a combination of similar sequences and later tested their method on a group of healthy exosomes and cancerous exosomes. Their CRISPR system successfully differentiated between the healthy and cancerous exosomes, which makes this system effective for cancer detection. The researchers are confident that their CRISPR gene editing approach to cancer detection will make diagnosis easier on patients and a more efficient process overall.

 

Self-Assembling Hydrophobic Sandwiches

You read that correctly! Researchers at Rice University in Houston, Texas alongside Jeffrey Hartgerink have made a significant advance in injury treatment, illness education, and drug candidate by testing the self-assembling abilities of 3D printed nanofibrous multidomain peptide hydrogels, referred to as “hydrophobic sandwiches.” 

Hydrogel

The main goal of Hartgerink’s team was to create a structure that could house cells and help them grow tissue by 3D printing the peptide ink. The printing allows researchers to recreate the complexity of biological structures due to their soft and flexible tissue-like feel, making this a major scientifical discovery and advantage. Hartgerink and his team describe their printed peptides as “hydrophobic sandwiches” due to their design, flexibility, and behavior. The peptides were printed to have one hydrophobic side and one hydrophilic side, allowing them to flip on top of each other when placed in water and resemble sandwiches. Like we learned in AP Biology, the hydrophillic qualities of one side will attract water, and the hydrophobic qualities of the other will repel water. Hydrophobic molecules repel water because they are nonpolar molecules, so they are not attracted to water, which is polar. Once the “sandwiches” were stacked after flipping in the water, they formed the hydrogels which can be vital to tissue engineering and wastewater treatments. 

Hydrogel Structure

The multidomain peptides have already been utilized due to their self-assembling nature for regenerating nerves, treating cancer, healing wounds, and encouraging tissue development throughout the body. Rather than only focusing on this aspect of the peptides, Adam Farsheed, a lead author in Hartgerink’s study, wanted to specifically highlight the fact that these peptides are an ideal 3D-printing ink choice due to their self-assembling nature. When testing the “sandwiches,” Farsheed took a unique, brute-force approach to add more of the material, rather than chemically modifying it, to test its function and ability to reassemble itself after deformation. He proved that adding more peptide material lets the peptide reassemble and heal itself extremely well after being deformed. This discovery will make the hydrogels an ideal candidate for scientific and medical usage.  

Through continued testing, he was also able to confirm that the peptides behave differently depending on their charge. The peptide cells with a negative charge tended to ball up on the substrate of the experiment and the positively charged cells spread out and started to mature on their own. Farsheed has confidently stated that their findings will allow the group to “control cell behavior using both structural and chemical complexity.” Both Hartgerink and Farsheed have made incredible contributions to the world of science through their studies using 3D-printed peptide hydrogels. 

 

Newly Discovered Neurons and Their Role in Maintaining Normal Body Temperature

The internal body temperature in humans and mammals is maintained at 37℃/96℉, unless disrupted by a force like an illness or heat exhaustion. Regulating the body to stay in the normal range is crucial for survival and for enzyme function.  Our internal body temperature is constantly being regulated by our hypothalamus, located at the base of our brain. The hypothalamus uses sensors from a mediator known as prostaglandin E which is brought about when an infection is present in the body. After PGE2 is present, it signals for the body to raise its temperature and combat the infection. If temperature levels are abnormal, the enzymes in our body have trouble functioning because they need specific temperature conditions to carry out reactions. Therefore, maintaining homeostasis throughout the body by regulating internal temperature is key to human survival.

Prostaglandin E

A team of researchers at Nagoya University in Japan were inspired by this process and decided to focus on the unknown neurons that make up the receptors of PGE2 and how this regulation process functions. The group of professors and colleagues successfully discovered key neurons that work to regulate the body temperature of mammals. This finding can be highly useful for creating future technology that can artificially fix body temperature related conditions such as hypothermia, heat stroke, and obesity.  

Neuron

Neuron

By using rats as a subject for their research, they exposed the rats to cold (4°C), room (24°C) and hot (36°C) temperatures to observe the effect of temperature changes on EP3 neuron response. After conducting the experiment, the researchers were able to conclude that exposure to the hot temperature led to an activation of EP3 neurons and the cold temperatures did not. Once they made this conclusion, they dug deeper into the neurons and analyzed the nerve fibers of the neurons to discover where the signal transmission occurs after sensing an infection. The researchers were able to conclude that the neuron fibers are spread out in different areas of the brain, mainly the dosomedial hypothalmus, which works to activate the sympathetic nervous system. Not only did they discover these fibers, but they also discovered the substance that EP3 neurons utilize to send signals to DMH. By observing the structure and chemical makeup, they found that this substance is a neurotransmitter known as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which inhibits neuron excitation. 

Finally, their findings support the idea that EP3 neurons are a major component of regulating internal body temperature and that they send out the GABA substance to signal to DMH neurons for a proper response. Their research proves that intiating a neural response decreases body temperature and inhibiting neurons leads to an increase in body temperature. Furthermore, their strong research in this area can support future development of advanced technology that will be capable of artificially adjusting internal body temperature. The anticipated technology could help prevent hypothermia, treat obesity to keep body temperature slightly higher and initiate fat burning, and be a key method of survival in hot environments. 

 

Is the recently discovered hidden cavity on the SARS-CoV-2 protein a target for drugs?

Many of us have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and have had the virus, leading us to become used to the virus being prevalent in our lives during the past few years. Even though a successful vaccine has been rolling out for a while now, new therapies have not yet been discovered for future strains. Finding new therapies for the virus remains a major priority in the field of science, even if many of us have been protected already. This issue remains a priority because new variants and strains have been continuing to emerge, and some resist present therapy mechanisms.

SARS-CoV-2

The most effective approach to attempting to combat the virus is addressing the proteins on the surface of therapeutic targets, known as spike proteins. The spike protein (S proteins) located on the surface of the virus leads to its spiky protrusions, and its mechanism to enter human cells. Like we learned in AP Biology class, the spike proteins of the virus latch to cells by matching with a specific receptor on a cell’s surface. The spike proteins of the virus have to latch on to the new cell to infect. Successful messenger RNA vaccines properly target this spike protein, which is the main goal when creating new therapies for viruses. 

                                             Spiky appearance of SARS CoV-2 virus

Luigi Gervasio, a chemistry and structural/molecular biology professor at University College London, and his team have been working towards addressing this issue. By partnering with the University of Barcelona’s research team, the two teams took the first steps to discover a possible mechanism for future drugs to detect and protect against the SARS CoV-2 Virus. Through thorough research and investigation, they uncovered a “hidden” cavity on the surface of a prominent infectious agent of the virus known as Nsp1. The team was able to make this discovery by testing small molecules that had the potential to bind to the Nsp1 cavity. The team identified one, 5 acetylaminoindane, which is essential for the development of new drugs against viruses. They concluded that this cavity permitted the calculation of the cavity’s atomically spatial arrangement, which will allow the development of these drugs.

The results of their breakthrough findings set the stage for developing new therapies that will be able to target the NSp1 protein against SARS-CoV-2 and present Nsp1 proteins in future coronavirus strains. Not only will this finding be impactful for targeting SARS-CoV-2 and future variants, but also new cavities on the surface of other proteins that have yet to be found by scientists. Finally, this research is monumental for both SARS-CoV-2 and virus treatment in years to come!  

 

Can Reactive Oxygen Species Maintain Stem Cell Function and Prevent Inflammation?

Have you ever wondered what “gut health” really means? What keeps your gut microbiome functioning properly, maintaining homeostasis, and preventing inflammation? Originating from oxygen, reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are highly reactive function as central indicators of cellular flaws and issues in the body, such as inflammation. Nai-Yun Hsu of Mount Sinai has stated that “Reactive oxygen species released by stem cells are critical in maintaining a heathy gut via maintaining proper balance of intestine barrier cell types.”

File:Inflammatory Bowel Disease MTK.jpg 

A team of researchers from the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have gone in depth about the importance of these oxygen species for stem cell function, avoiding inflammation, and repairing wounds in a recent study. Using mice as models, the researchers were also able to conclude that microfold cells, called “m cells” regulate an organism’s gut immune response, and emerged from a loss of ROS in mice and humans. 

 

The experiment was conducted in vino and in vitro conditions with the mice cells, and ex vivo conditions with human intestinal biopsies post-colonoscopy. Both the human intestinal biopsies and mouse cells were utilized to determine the amount of ROS in the body to support a finding. In addition to determining the amount of the oxygen species, the biopsies and mice were used to analyze the “gene expression profile” of barrier cells in intestines of mice and humans that are diagnosed with a “subtype of IBD known as ulcerative colitis.”  

 

A decrease in these oxygen species can lead to TNF’s emergence in the body, which is a substance that attempts to maintain homeostasis in the body and avoid inflammatory diseases, like IBD and ulcerative colitis. They have concluded that losing species like NOX1, a protein that creates these species, is directly linked with inflammatory diseases like Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Judy H. Cho, MD, has stated that the study is a breakthrough “in defining the key role of oxygen species in maintaining a healthy epithelial barrier for IBD.” These reactive oxygen species are relevant to AP Bio considering the information we have learned about general biological systems and cells, which function to maintain homeostasis in the body. The mitochondria, which is an organelle of the cell covered in AP Bio, receives signals from gut bacteria that reveals inflammation. While the mitochondria is typically known as the site of cell respiration and performing reactions, new evidence has shown a relationship between the gut microbiota and mitochondria to trigger immune responses and activate barrier cell function. These processes relate to changes to the mitochondria that occur from gut-related issues in IBD patients, meaning that there is a connection to ROS. 

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Gut Microbiota

As a conclusion to proving the direct link between the highly reactive oxygen species and treating inflammation, these researchers encourage and plan to conduct further study on this topic, but for using “oxygen species-stem cell modulation therapy” to potentially treat IBD patients. 

 

 

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