Tsuji Gakushi, Yamaguchi Yuusuke, Oki Masaya
Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Fukui, 3-9-1 Bunkyo, Fukui-shi, Fukui, 910-8507, Japan.
Life Science Innovation Center, University of Fukui, 3-9-1 Bunkyo, Fukui-shi, Fukui, 910-8507, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2025 May 28;15(1):18729. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-03869-w.
Terahertz waves are absorbed by hydrogen bonds between water molecules and proteins, and low-frequency terahertz waves, in particular, have been reported to cause changes in protein function and inhibit cell division. In this study, we established an experimental system to irradiate liposomes containing T7 RNA polymerase for in vitro transcription reactions with terahertz waves in the absence of external fluid, and analyzed the resulting changes in transcription reaction efficiency. Terahertz wave irradiation at 460 GHz did not alter the shape of the liposomes, but the intraliposomal transcription reaction was non-thermally inhibited during irradiation, regardless of the energy per pulse. After irradiation, the transcription reaction efficiency was found to be higher than in non-irradiated samples. Since our experimental system allows for the analysis of a wide range of terahertz wave frequencies, pulse widths, pulse intervals, and energy levels, we can comprehensively explore the effects of terahertz waves on living organisms, an area that has been challenging to study in the past. This capability significantly broadens the potential applications of terahertz waves in future research.
太赫兹波会被水分子和蛋白质之间的氢键吸收，特别是低频太赫兹波，据报道会导致蛋白质功能发生变化并抑制细胞分裂。在本研究中，我们建立了一个实验系统，在无外部液体的情况下，用太赫兹波照射含有T7 RNA聚合酶的脂质体以进行体外转录反应，并分析转录反应效率由此产生的变化。460吉赫兹的太赫兹波照射并未改变脂质体的形状，但在照射期间，脂质体内的转录反应受到非热抑制，与每个脉冲的能量无关。照射后，发现转录反应效率高于未照射的样品。由于我们的实验系统能够分析广泛的太赫兹波频率、脉冲宽度、脉冲间隔和能量水平，我们可以全面探索太赫兹波对生物体的影响，而这一领域在过去一直难以研究。这种能力显著拓宽了太赫兹波在未来研究中的潜在应用。
