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【bio-news】细胞核内排列并非随机分布
Scientists prove that parts of cell nuclei are not arranged at random
科学家证实细胞核内各部分并非随机排列
The nucleus of a mammal cell is made up of component parts arranged in a pattern which can be predicted statistically, says new research published today. Scientists hope this discovery that parts of the inside of a cell nucleus are not arranged at random will give greater insight into how cells work and could eventually lead to a greater understanding of how they become dysfunctional in diseases like cancer.
今天发表的一项新研究称，哺乳动物细胞核是由按模式排列的各组成部分构成的，而这种排列模式是可以根据统计学预知的。科学家希望这一发现，即细胞核内部并非随机排列，将使我们更深刻地理解细胞的工作机制，可能最终使我们对疾病（比如癌症）中它们失能的机制更加了解。
The study, published today in PLoS Computational Biology, involved systems biologists working together with mathematicians to identify, for the first time, 'spatial relationships' governing the distribution of an important control protein in the nucleus, in relation to other components within the nuclei of mammal cells.
该研究成果发表于今天的科学公共图书馆的《计算生物学》杂志上，这是系统生物学家与数学家联合，首次发现控制核内一个重要蛋白分布与哺乳动物细胞核内其他组分关系的“空间结构”。
This widespread protein called CBP acts on certain genes within the cell nucleus, turning them on to make specific proteins at different times throughout the life of the cell. The research began with a team of biologists in Canada labelling components inside cell nuclei with fluorescent dyes, which enabled them to identify concentrated pockets of CBP. However the pattern seen under the microscope is very complex. When the 'nearest neighbours' of the CPB pockets, such as gene regions and other protein machinery are visualised, the spatial relationships become too difficult to define.
这种普遍存在的蛋白叫做CBP（钙结合蛋白），作用于细胞核内的特定基因，使其在细胞生命的不同时段合成特异蛋白质。该研究由加拿大的生物学家小组启动，他们对细胞核内各组分进行荧光染色标记，以此来分辨CBP的浓缩口袋（蛋白质立体结构）。然而，在显微镜下看到的模式很复杂。当CPB袋“最近的邻居”，比如基因区及其他蛋白组分显现的时候，那种空间结构就太难以界定了。
To overcome this, the mathematicians involved in the research analysed the nearest neighbour distance measurements between the nuclei's components, and developed a toolkit for showing where other proteins and gene regions are likely to be located in relation to CBP across the nucleus. Specifically, they were able to develop a model for showing which components were more likely to be located closest to a CBP pocket, and those that were less likely. This effectively created a probability map of the nucleus, with components' locations derived relative to the location of concentrations of CBP.
为了克服这个问题，数学家加入到此研究中，分析细胞核组分间的最小距离值，并开发出一种工具，可以显示其他蛋白和基因区与跨核CBP的可能定位关系。他们已能开发出一种模型，来显示哪些组分更容易跟CBP口袋（处）“亲近”，而哪些又很少接近。这给细胞核地图的可能绘制给予了有力支持，地图将描绘出各组分与CBP口袋的相对定位关系。
Professor Paul Freemont from Imperial College London's Division of Molecular Biosciences one of the leaders of the research said: "We chose to focus on CBP because it is a well established gene regulator that activates genes by altering their local structure to allow the production of the specific proteins encoded by the genes. By using fluorescent dyes and sophisticated imaging techniques, we discovered that CBP pockets are more likely to be located closest to gene regions with which it is known to modify. This research is very important as it advances our understanding of how the cell nucleus is organised, although it leaves us with a 'chicken-or-egg' question to answer: is CBP located close to certain gene regions because they are active or does the location of CBP result in the activation of these genes?"
该研究的领导者之一，来自帝国理工学院分子生物学系的Paul Freemont教授说：“我们选择以CBP为重点，是因为它是大家所熟知的基因调节子，可通过改变基因的结构来激活基因以产生基因编码的特定蛋白质。通过使用荧光染色及复杂的成像技术，我们发现CBP口袋更易与那些被修饰的基因区靠近。这一发现非常重要，因为它提高我们对细胞核组织机制的认识，虽然它也留给我们一个‘鸡生蛋还是蛋生鸡’的难题需要解答：CBP与特定基因区接近是因其活性还是CBP的定位导致这些基因的活化呢？”
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2010-12-03 05:11
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