自噬、细胞外囊泡、无膜细胞器及细胞器相互作用

细胞是结构与功能的统一体,细胞内繁复的生化反应通过膜性与非膜性细胞器组织起来,而细胞内亚结构之间又通过膜运输等方式进一步组织成一个整体。对细胞内组织原则的探索一直是细胞生物学领域的前沿方向,每一个对细胞组织方式的新认识,都会催生大量的新发现。在这个综述系列中,中国科学院生物物理研究所的胡俊杰研究员和清华大学的李丕龙教授及其共同作者概述了细胞器互作及相分离这两个近年来细胞组织方式方向上的重要的概念性突破,并探讨了这些突破对细胞生物学领域的可能影响。     

大停

线粒体很小。根据不同类型的组织,一颗人类细胞可以含有上百到上千个这种土豆形的细胞器。这些细胞器通过产生ATP,为我们细胞里的生化反应提供能量。这些常常被忽视的细胞器直到上世纪70年代才受到重视,现在已成为了研究的热点,因为它们可能在常见的重大疾病中扮演重要角色。科学家们认为线粒体可能是癌症和阿尔茨海默症病源学中的关键。     

封面故事

线粒体是真核细胞中十分重要的细胞器,它密切影响着细胞能量的供应、钙离子浓度的稳态以及细胞凋亡等过程。因此,线粒体的恰当分布关乎细胞的功能和生存,这就涉及到线粒体的运动和固定。在极化细胞(如神经细胞和芽殖酵母)中,线粒体运     

基于结构信息的蛋白质相互作用规律的研究

蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用是蛋白质发挥其功能的重要途径之一。作者基于相互作用蛋白质数据库、基因本体数据库和蛋白质结构分类数据库（structural classification of proteins, SCOP）,结合SWISS-PROT等相关数据库中蛋白质功能注释信息,定义描述蛋白质相互作用倾向性的参数,对酿酒酵母定位于不同细胞器蛋白、部分膜蛋白,以及酿酒酵母、线虫和大肠杆菌按SCOP分类的不同结构类蛋白质之间相互作用规律进行研究。结果表明各种细胞器、膜和结构类蛋白质之间相互作用确实存在明显的偏向性。     

内质网和高尔基体的功能浅析

内质网和高尔基体都是膜构成的细胞器,二者在形态、化学组成上都有一定的相似性。其功能虽然有一定的联系,但也有很大的差别。许多中学生乃至大学生对二者功能上的区别与联系不甚明了。下面就分别加以论述。     

煤绒菌Fuligo septica显型原质团细胞核及菌核的超微结构

从煤绒菌显型原质团中提纯细胞核、核仁,诱导原质团形成菌核,并在透射电镜下观察。研究结果表明:细胞核具有中央核仁,核仁可以看到明显的纤维中心、致密纤维中心和颗粒结构。原质团中存在大量的黏液颗粒。菌核具有双层膜,内含有细胞器及脂滴。     

细胞器与细胞凋亡

细胞凋亡是由基因控制的有序生理过程,细胞内各组分在这一过程中相互协调,组成了精细的调控系统。除细胞核外,线粒体是近年发现与凋亡密切相关的细胞器,它经多种因子诱发可以释放细胞色素c等因子参与到凋亡途径中。进一步的研究发现,在一定条件下,内质网、溶酶体等也与凋亡活动有关。这些细胞器在细胞凋亡中的作用及其机制是目前的研究热点。     

Calcium Signaling in Plant Endosymbiotic Organelles： Mechanism and Role in Physiology

Recent studies have demonstrated that chloroplasts and mitochondria evoke specific Ca2＋ signals in response to biotic and abiotic stresses in a stress-dependent manner. The identification of Ca2＋ transporters and Ca2＋signaling mol- ecules in chloroplasts and mitochondria implies that they play roles in controlling not only intra-organellar functions, but also extra-organellar processes such as plant immunity and stress responses. It appears that organellar Ca2＋ signaling might be more important to plant cell functions than previously thought. This review briefly summarizes what is known about the molecular basis of Ca2＋ signaling in plant mitochondria and chloroplasts.     

Import Determinants of Organelle-Specific and Dual Targeting Peptides of Mitochondria and Chloroplasts in Arabidopsis thaliana

Most of the mitochondrial and chloroplastic proteins are synthesized in the cytosol as precursor proteins carrying an N-terminal targeting peptide （TP） directing them specifically to a correct organelle. However, there is a group of proteins that are dually targeted to mitochondria and chloroplasts using an ambiguous N-terminal dual targeting peptide （dTP）. Here, we have investigated pattern properties of import determinants of organelle-specific TPs and dTPs combining mathematical multivariate data analysis （MVDA） with in vitro organellar import studies. We have used large datasets of mitochondrial and chloroplastic proteins found in organellar proteomes as well as manually selected data sets of experimentally confirmed organelle-specific TPs and dTPs from Arabidopsis thaliana. Two classes of organelle-specific TPs could be distinguished by MVDA and potential patterns or periodicity in the amino acid sequence contributing to the separation were revealed, dTPs were found to have intermediate sequence features between the organelle-specific TPs. Interestingly, introducing positively charged residues to the dTPs showed clustering towards the mitochondrial TPs in silico and resulted in inhibition of chloroplast, but not mitochondrial import in in vitro organellar import studies. These findings suggest that positive charges in the N-terminal region of TPs may function as an ＇avoidance signal＇ for the chloroplast import.     

Recent Advances in Understanding Proteins Involved in Lipid Droplet Formation,Growth and Fusion

Lipid droplets （LDs） were once viewed as simple, inert lipid micelles. However, they are now known to be organelles with a rich proteome involved in a myriad of cellular processes. LDs are heterogeneous in nature with different sizes and compositions of phospholipids, neutral lipids and proteins. This review takes a focused look at the roles of proteins involved in the regulation of LD formation, expansion, and morphology. The related proteins are summarized such as the fat-specific protein （Fsp27）, fat storage-inducing trans- membrane （FIT） proteins, seipin and ADP-ribosylation factor 1-coat protein complex I （Arf-COPI）. Finally, we present important challenges in LD biology for a deeper understanding of this dynamic organelle to be achieved.