Li Shulin, Zhang Min, Ge Liang
State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Beijing 100101, China.
Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing 100084, China.
Biophys Rep. 2023 Aug 31;9(4):188-194. doi: 10.52601/bpr.2023.230011.
Eukaryotic cells compartmentalize diverse biochemical functions within organelles defined by intracellular membranes. Recent focus has intensified on studying the interactions among organelles and the role of membrane contacts in maintaining cellular balance. While analyzing these contacts mainly involves fluorescence and electron microscopy, as well as biochemical cell fractionation, understanding their mechanisms and responses to genetic and environmental changes remains challenging. Here we describe an approach employing reconstitution of membrane contacts using unilamellar vesicles. This technique offers insights into contact mechanisms when combined with established methods like fluorescence imaging and mass spectrometry, potentially deepening our understanding of membrane contacts and organelle networks.
真核细胞将多种生物化学功能区室化在由细胞内膜界定的细胞器内。最近,人们对细胞器之间相互作用以及膜接触在维持细胞平衡中的作用的研究关注度不断提高。虽然分析这些接触主要涉及荧光显微镜和电子显微镜,以及生化细胞分级分离,但了解它们的机制以及对遗传和环境变化的反应仍然具有挑战性。在这里,我们描述了一种利用单层囊泡重建膜接触的方法。当与荧光成像和质谱等既定方法结合使用时,该技术能够深入了解接触机制,有可能加深我们对膜接触和细胞器网络的理解。