In a motion similar to drilling into the yolk of an egg without breaking the shell or albumen, researchers have discovered a way to drill into the nucleus of a cell without damaging other parts of the structure. This advance could be big news for medicine.
To accomplish this medical magic trick, researchers at the University of San Diego created an array of nanopillars that look like the floor of a blunt nail microscope. They then placed different cells treated with fluorescent dyes on top of the pillars and watched what happened. Cells include heart muscle cells, skin cells, and fibroblasts, which are cells involved in the development of connective tissue in the body.
All cells were deposited around the pillars, resulting in a curved nucleus. This formed an opening in the nuclear envelope, but not in the outer structures of the cell, as evidenced by the appearance of dye from the nucleus in the cell’s cytoplasm. The opening in the nuclear membrane is self-healing and automatically repairs itself when removed from the array.
“This is interesting because we can selectively create these small breaks in the nuclear membrane to gain direct access to the nucleus while leaving the rest of the cell intact,” said Zeinab Jahed, senior author of the study. he said.
University of California, San Diego
Achieving this is no small feat, as the nuclear membrane is known to be a very durable shield that protects our genetic information. It can usually only be penetrated by a needle, which risks damaging specific molecules or entire cells. A non-destructive way to open a cell’s nucleus could greatly help advance gene therapy and find ways to deliver drugs directly to the center of the cell.
Jahed and her team are now investigating the findings further to better understand the mechanisms involved and how they can be leveraged to improve medical interventions. “Understanding these details will be key to optimizing the platform for clinical use and ensuring both safety and efficacy in delivering genetic material to the nucleus,” she said. .
The study was published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
Source: University of California, San Diego
