Biology subjects

Greer, H. F.

Publications and source records attributed to Greer, H. F..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Intracellular photonic crystals in photosynthetic sea slugs form via a kidney-mediated biomineralisation pathway

Sea slugs in the Sacoglossa superorder are some of the few animals capable of photosynthesising by isolating and maintaining functional chloroplasts within their body1,2. While this ability allows some species in this superorder, such as Elysia viridis, to appear green, camouflaging themselves within their surroundings3,4, this species is marked by extremely bright, coloured regions. Here, we show that these animals produce a yet undiscovered class of photonic structure consisting of intracellular mixed amorphous CaCO3 and calcite spherical nanoparticles organised in non-closed-packed face-centred cubic (FCC) lattices and photonic glasses5. By mapping the distribution of the cells containing such architectures, we suggest that their colour is linked both to their function and to their biological formation via the animals renal system. Using a combination of different optical methods and cryo-electron microscopy, we reveal that the biomineralisation pathway proceeds through stages of calcium ion concentration in the kidney, transport via internal vessels, and precipitation from a dense liquid-like precursor, culminating in the formation of monodisperse nanoparticles, which are the building blocks of these photonic structures.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2024

Poly(ADP-ribose) binding sites on collagen I fibrils for nucleating intrafibrillar bone mineral

Bone calcification is essential for vertebrate life. The mechanism by which mineral ions are transported into collagen fibrils to induce intrafibrillar mineral formation requires a calcium binding biopolymer that also has highly selective binding to the collagen fibril hole zones where intrafibrillar calcification begins, over other bone extracellular matrix components. Poly(ADP-ribose) has been shown to be a candidate biopolymer for this process and we show here that poly(ADP-ribose) has high affinity, highly conserved binding sites in the collagen type I C-terminal telopeptides. The discovery of these poly(ADP-ribose)-collagen binding sites gives new insights into the chemical mechanisms underlying bone calcification and possible mechanisms behind pathologies where there is dysfunctional bone calcification.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2023

In Vivo Monitoring of Cellular Senescence by Photoacoustic and Fluorescence Imaging Utilizing a Nanostructured Organic Probe

Senescent cells accumulate in multiple age-related disorders, including cancer, exacerbating the pathological manifestations, and the eradication of these cells has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy. Despite the impact of senescence in diseases, the development of tools to monitor the senescent burden in vivo remains a challenge due to their suboptimal specificity, translatability, and tissue penetrance. Here, we have designed a nanostructured organic probe (NanoJaggs) based on biocompatible indocyanine green dye (ICG) building blocks forming J-aggregates, which possess distinct spectral properties allowing both fluorescence and photoacoustic tomography (PAT) detection. We show that NanoJaggs are taken up by an active process of endocytosis and exhibit selective accumulation at the lysosomal compartment in several in vitro models for senescence. Finally, NanoJagg probe is validated in two in vivo studies including live PAT imaging and shows remarkable specificity to tumours with chemotherapy-induced senescence compared to untreated proliferative tumors. In vitro, ex vivo and in vivo all indicate that NanoJaggs are a clinically translatable tool for detection of senescence and their robust PAT signal makes them suitable for longitudinal monitoring of the senescent burden in solid tumors after chemo or radiotherapy.

cancer biology↗