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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 325 records · Page 18
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NASA NTRS2003

Tensegrity II. How structural networks influence cellular information processing networks

The major challenge in biology today is biocomplexity: the need to explain how cell and tissue behaviors emerge from collective interactions within complex molecular networks. Part I of this two-part article, described a mechanical model of cell structure based on tensegrity architecture that explains how the mechanical behavior of the cell emerges from physical interactions among the different molecular filament systems that form the cytoskeleton. Recent work shows that the cytoskeleton also orients much of the cell's metabolic and signal transduction machinery and that mechanical distortion of cells and the cytoskeleton through cell surface integrin receptors can profoundly affect cell behavior. In particular, gradual variations in this single physical control parameter (cell shape distortion) can switch cells between distinct gene programs (e.g. growth, differentiation and apoptosis), and this process can be viewed as a biological phase transition. Part II of this article covers how combined use of tensegrity and solid-state mechanochemistry by cells may mediate mechanotransduction and facilitate integration of chemical and physical signals that are responsible for control of cell behavior. In addition, it examines how cell structural networks affect gene and protein signaling networks to produce characteristic phenotypes and cell fate transitions during tissue development.

Review↗
NASA NTRS2002

Mechanical signaling and the cellular response to extracellular matrix in angiogenesis and cardiovascular physiology

Great advances have been made in the identification of the soluble angiogenic factors, insoluble extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules, and receptor signaling pathways that mediate control of angiogenesis--the growth of blood capillaries. This review focuses on work that explores how endothelial cells integrate these chemical signals with mechanical cues from their local tissue microenvironment so as to produce functional capillary networks that exhibit specialized form as well as function. These studies have revealed that ECM governs whether an endothelial cell will switch between growth, differentiation, motility, or apoptosis programs in response to a soluble stimulus based on its ability to mechanically resist cell tractional forces and thereby produce cell and cytoskeletal distortion. Transmembrane integrin receptors play a key role in this mechanochemical transduction process because they both organize a cytoskeletal signaling complex within the focal adhesion and preferentially focus mechanical forces on this site. Molecular filaments within the internal cytoskeleton--microfilaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments--also contribute to the cell's structural and functional response to mechanical stress through their role as discrete support elements within a tensegrity-stabilized cytoskeletal array. Importantly, a similar form of mechanical control also has been shown to be involved in the regulation of contractility in vascular smooth muscle cells and cardiac myocytes. Thus, the mechanism by which cells perform mechanochemical transduction and the implications of these findings for morphogenetic control are discussed in the wider context of vascular development and cardiovascular physiology.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2002

Drosophila atonal fully rescues the phenotype of Math1 null mice: new functions evolve in new cellular contexts

Many genes share sequence similarity between species, but their properties often change significantly during evolution. For example, the Drosophila genes engrailed and orthodenticle and the onychophoran gene Ultrabithorax only partially substitute for their mouse or Drosophila homologs. We have been analyzing the relationship between atonal (ato) in the fruit fly and its mouse homolog, Math1. In flies, ato acts as a proneural gene that governs the development of chordotonal organs (CHOs), which serve as stretch receptors in the body wall and joints and as auditory organs in the antennae. In the fly CNS, ato is important not for specification but for axonal arborization. Math1, in contrast, is required for the specification of cells in both the CNS and the PNS. Furthermore, Math1 serves a role in the development of secretory lineage cells in the gut, a function that does not parallel any known to be served by ato. We wondered whether ato and Math1 might be more functionally homologous than they appear, so we expressed Math1 in ato mutant flies and ato in Math1 null mice. To our surprise, the two proteins are functionally interchangeable.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2002

Opportunities for nutritional amelioration of radiation-induced cellular damage

The closed environment and limited evasive capabilities inherent in space flight cause astronauts to be exposed to many potential harmful agents (chemical contaminants in the environment and cosmic radiation exposure). Current power systems used to achieve space flight are prohibitively expensive for supporting the weight requirements to fully shield astronauts from cosmic radiation. Therefore, radiation poses a major, currently unresolvable risk for astronauts, especially for long-duration space flights. The major detrimental radiation effects that are of primary concern for long-duration space flights are damage to the lens of the eye, damage to the immune system, damage to the central nervous system, and cancer. In addition to the direct damage to biological molecules in cells, radiation exposure induces oxidative damage. Many natural antioxidants, whether consumed before or after radiation exposure, are able to confer some level of radioprotection. In addition to achieving beneficial effects from long-known antioxidants such as vitamins E and C and folic acid, some protection is conferred by several recently discovered antioxidant molecules, such as flavonoids, epigallocatechin, and other polyphenols. Somewhat counterintuitive is the protection provided by diets containing elevated levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, considering they are thought to be prone to peroxidation. Even with the information we have at our disposal, it will be difficult to predict the types of dietary modifications that can best reduce the risk of radiation exposure to astronauts, those living on Earth, or those enduring diagnostic or therapeutic radiation exposure. Much more work must be done in humans, whether on Earth or, preferably, in space, before we are able to make concrete recommendations.

Review↗
NASA NTRS2002

Root gravitropism: an experimental tool to investigate basic cellular and molecular processes underlying mechanosensing and signal transmission in plants

The ability of plant organs to use gravity as a guide for growth, named gravitropism, has been recognized for over two centuries. This growth response to the environment contributes significantly to the upward growth of shoots and the downward growth of roots commonly observed throughout the plant kingdom. Root gravitropism has received a great deal of attention because there is a physical separation between the primary site for gravity sensing, located in the root cap, and the site of differential growth response, located in the elongation zones (EZs). Hence, this system allows identification and characterization of different phases of gravitropism, including gravity perception, signal transduction, signal transmission, and curvature response. Recent studies support some aspects of an old model for gravity sensing, which postulates that root-cap columellar amyloplasts constitute the susceptors for gravity perception. Such studies have also allowed the identification of several molecules that appear to function as second messengers in gravity signal transduction and of potential signal transducers. Auxin has been implicated as a probable component of the signal that carries the gravitropic information between the gravity-sensing cap and the gravity-responding EZs. This has allowed the identification and characterization of important molecular processes underlying auxin transport and response in plants. New molecular models can be elaborated to explain how the gravity signal transduction pathway might regulate the polarity of auxin transport in roots. Further studies are required to test these models, as well as to study the molecular mechanisms underlying a poorly characterized phase of gravitropism that is independent of an auxin gradient.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2002

Constitutive properties of hypertrophied myocardium: cellular contribution to changes in myocardial stiffness

Recent studies have suggested that pressure overload hypertrophy (POH) alters the viscoelastic properties of individual cardiocytes when studied in isolation. However, whether these changes in cardiocyte properties contribute causally to changes in the material properties of the cardiac muscle as a whole is unknown. Accordingly, a selective, isolated, acute change in cardiocyte constitutive properties was imposed in an in vitro system capable of measuring the resultant effect on the material properties of the composite cardiac muscle. POH caused an increase in both myocardial elastic stiffness, from 20.5 +/- 1.3 to 28.4 +/- 1.8, and viscous damping, from 15.2 +/- 1.1 to 19.8 +/- 1.5 s (normal vs. POH, P < 0.05), respectively. Recent studies have shown that cardiocyte constitutive properties could be acutely altered by depolymerizing the microtubules with colchicine. Colchicine caused a significant decrease in the viscous damping in POH muscles (19.8 +/- 1.5 s at baseline vs. 14.7 +/- 1.3 s after colchicine, P < 0.05). Therefore, myocardial material properties can be altered by selectively changing the constitutive properties of one element within this muscle tissue, the cardiocyte. Changes in the constitutive properties of the cardiocytes themselves contribute to the abnormalities in myocardial stiffness and viscosity that develop during POH.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2000

Maintenance of asymmetric cellular localization of an auxin transport protein through interaction with the actin cytoskeleton

In shoots, polar auxin transport is basipetal (that is, from the shoot apex toward the base) and is driven by the basal localization of the auxin efflux carrier complex. The focus of this article is to summarize the experiments that have examined how the asymmetric distribution of this protein complex is controlled and the significance of this polar distribution. Experimental evidence suggests that asymmetries in the auxin efflux carrier may be established through localized secretion of Golgi vesicles, whereas an attachment of a subunit of the efflux carrier to the actin cytoskeleton may maintain this localization. In addition, the idea that this localization of the efflux carrier may control both the polarity of auxin movement and more globally regulate developmental polarity is explored. Finally, evidence indicating that the gravity vector controls auxin transport polarity is summarized and possible mechanisms for the environmentally induced changes in auxin transport polarity are discussed.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1997

Cellular specificity of the gravitropic motor response in roots

A number of features of the gravitropic response of roots are not readily accounted for by the classical Cholodny-Went theory. These include the observations that (i) in the later stages of the response the growth gradient is reversed with no evident reversal of the auxin gradient; (ii) a major component of the acceleration of growth along the upper side occurs in the distal elongation zone (DEZ), a group of cells located between the meristem and the main elongation, not within the central elongation zone; and (iii) the initiation of differential growth in the DEZ appears to be independent of the establishment of auxin asymmetry. Alternative candidates for mediation of differential growth in the DEZ include calcium ions and protons. Gravi-induced curvature is accompanied by polar movement of calcium toward the lower side of the maize root tip and the DEZ is shown to be particularly sensitive to growth inhibition by calcium. Also, gravistimulation of maize roots causes enhanced acid efflux from the upper side of the DEZ. Evidence for gravi-induced modification of ion movements in the root tip includes changes in intracellular potentials and current flow. It is clear that there is more than one motor region in the root with regard to gravitropic responses and there is evidence that the DEZ itself consists of more than one class of responding cells. In order to gain a more complete understanding of the mechanism of gravitropic curvature, the physiological properties of the sub-zones of the root apex need to be thoroughly characterized with regard to their sensitivity to hormones, calcium, acid pH and electrical perturbations.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗
NASA NTRS1985

Changes in the distribution of plastids and endoplasmic reticulum during cellular differentiation in root caps of Zea mays

In calyptrogen cells of Zea mays, proplastids are distributed randomly throughout the cell, and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is distributed parallel to the cell walls. The differentiation of calyptrogen cells into columella statocytes is characterized by the following sequential events: (1) formation of ER complexes at the distal and proximal ends of the cell, (2) differentiation of proplastids into amyloplasts, (3) sedimentation of amyloplasts onto the distal ER complex, (4) breakdown of the distal ER complex and sedimentation of amyloplasts to the bottom of the cell, and (5) formation of sheets of ER parallel to the longitudinal cell walls. Columella statocytes located in the centre of the cap each possess 4530 +/- 780 micrometers2 of ER surface area, an increase of 670 per cent over that of calyptrogen cells. The differentiation of peripheral cells correlates positively with (1) the ER becoming arranged in concentric sheets, (2) amyloplasts and ER becoming randomly distributed, and (3) a 280 per cent increase in ER surface area over that of columella statocytes. These results are discussed relative to graviperception and mucilage secretion, which are functions of columella and peripheral cells, respectively.

NASA Discipline Number 40-10↗
NASA NTRS1992

Microtubules as key cytoskeletal elements in cellular transport and shape changes: their expected responses to space environments

Application of reference standard reagents to alternatively depolymerize or stabilize microtubules in a cell that undergoes very regular cytoskeleton-dependent shape changes provides a model system in which some expected components of the environments of spacecraft and space can be tested on Earth for their effects on the cytoskeleton. The fertilized eggs of Ilyanassa obsoleta undergo polar lobe formation by repeated, dramatic, constriction and relaxation of a microfilamentous band localized in the cortical cytoplasm and activated by microtubules.

NASA Discipline Number 93-10↗
NASA NTRS1992

Cellular distribution of calmodulin and calmodulin-binding proteins in Vicia faba L

The distribution of calmodulin (CaM) and CaM-binding proteins within Vicia faba was investigated. Both CaM and CaM-binding proteins were found to be differentially distributed among organs, tissues, and protoplast types. CaM levels, on a per protein basis, were found to be the highest in leaf epidermis, containing 3-fold higher levels of CaM than in total leaf. Similarly, guard cell and epidermal cell protoplasts were also found to have higher levels of CaM than mesophyll cell protoplasts. 125I-CaM blot overlay assays were performed to qualitatively examine CaM-binding proteins in these protoplast types as well as in whole tissues and organs. CaM-binding proteins with Mr 52,000, 78,000, and 115,000 were common in all metabolically active plant parts. Unique CaM-binding protein bands were detected in guard cell protoplasts (Mr 39,000, 88,000), stems (Mr 45,000, 60,000, 64,000), and roots (Mr 62,000), suggesting the presence of specialized CaM-dependent processes in these cells and organs.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1988

Molecular and cellular aspects of calcium action in plants

Calcium is known to be a second messenger in many developmental processes in animal systems, but it has only recently become evident that Ca is an important intracellular messenger in plants as well. The level of free Ca concentration in the cytoplasm is extremely low, and it is influenced by extracellular signals such as light, gravity, and hormones. Investigations from our laboratory indicated that Ca and its binding protein, calmodulin, play an important role in stimulus-response coupling by regulating enzyme activities, especially through protein phosphorylation. In vivo and in vitro protein phosphorylation studies have revealed Ca-dependent changes in various plant tissues. We have also been able to influence various physiological processes such as cell elongation, abscission, senescence, and tuberization by altering extracellular and intracellular Ca levels. Other examples of Ca-mediated processes in plants are as follows: a) cell division, b) geotropism, c) protoplasmic streaming, d) stomatal control, e) chloroplast movement, f) secretion, g) hormone-dependent changes, h) enzyme activation, and i) protein phosphorylation.

NASA Program Space Biology↗
NASA NTRS1990

Defective secretion of mucilage is the cellular basis for agravitropism in primary roots of Zea mays cv. Ageotropic

Root caps of primary, secondary, and seminal roots of Z. mays cv. Kys secrete large amounts of mucilage and are in close contact with the root all along the root apex. These roots are strongly graviresponsive. Secondary and seminal roots of Z. mays cv. Ageotropic are also strongly graviresponsive. Similarly, their caps secrete mucilage and closely appress the root all along the root apex. However, primary roots of Z. mays cv. Ageotropic are non-responsive to gravity. Their caps secrete negligible amounts of mucilage and contact the root only at the extreme apex of the root along the calyptrogen. These roots become graviresponsive when their tips are coated with mucilage or mucilage-like materials. Peripheral cells of root caps of roots of Z. mays cv. Kys contain many dictyosomes associated with vesicles that migrate to and fuse with the plasmalemma. Root-cap cells of secondary and seminal (i.e. graviresponsive) roots of Z. mays cv. Ageotropic are similar to those of primary roots of Z. mays cv. Kys. However, root-cap cells of primary (i.e. non-graviresponsive) roots of Z. mays cv. Ageotropic have distended dictyosomal cisternae filled with an electron-dense, granular material. Large vesicles full of this material populate the cells and apparently do not fuse with the plasmalemma. Taken together, these results suggest that non-graviresponsiveness of primary roots of Z. mays cv. Ageotropic results from the lack of apoplastic continuity between the root and the periphery of the root cap. This is a result of negligible secretion of mucilage by cells along the edge of the root cap which, in turn, appears to be due to the malfunctioning of dictyosomes in these cells.

NASA Discipline Number 29-20↗