Biology subjects

Rho, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Rho, E..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

ActuAtor, a molecular tool for generating force in living cells: Controlled deformation of intracellular structures

Mechanical force underlies fundamental cell functions such as division, migration and differentiation. While physical probes and devices revealed cellular mechano-responses, how force is translated inside cells to exert output functions remains largely unknown, due to the limited techniques to manipulate force intracellularly. By engineering an ActA protein, an actin nucleation promoting factor derived from Listeria monocytogenes, and implementing this in protein dimerization paradigms, we developed a molecular tool termed ActuAtor, with which actin polymerization can be triggered at intended subcellular locations to generate constrictive force in a rapidly inducible manner. The ActuAtor operation led to striking deformation of target intracellular structures including mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, nucleus, and non-membrane-bound RNA granules. Based on functional analysis before and after organelle deformation, we found the form-function relationship of mitochondria to be generally marginal. The modular design and genetically-encoded nature enable wide applications of ActuAtor for studies of intracellular mechanobiology processes.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2017

Intracellular production of hydrogels and synthetic RNA granules by multivalent enhancers

Non-membrane bound, hydrogel-like entities, such as RNA granules, nucleate essential cellular functions through their unique physico-chemical properties. However, these intracellular hydrogels have not been as extensively studied as their extracellular counterparts, primarily due to technical challenges in probing these materials in situ. Here, by taking advantage of a chemically inducible dimerization paradigm, we developed iPOLYMER, a strategy for rapid induction of protein-based hydrogels inside living cells. A series of biochemical and biophysical characterizations, in conjunction with computational modeling, revealed that the polymer network formed in the cytosol resembles a physiological hydrogel-like entity that behaves as a size-dependent molecular sieve. We studied several properties of the gel and functionalized it with RNA binding motifs that sequester polyadenine-containing nucleotides to synthetically mimic RNA granules. Therefore, we here demonstrate that iPOLYMER presents a unique and powerful approach to synthetically reconstitute hydrogel-like structures including RNA granules in intact cells.

synthetic biology↗