ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
    • Animals
    • Climate
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • FutureNEW
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
HomeScienceBiology

New structure that keeps cells bound together discovered in human cells

We're nowhere near close to 'discovering everything' yet.

Alexandru Micu byAlexandru Micu
October 23, 2018 - Updated on October 25, 2019
inBiology, News, Science
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, report discovering a new structure in human cells. The role of this cellular structure protein seems to be fixing cells to surrounding tissues and aiding in division, the team reports.

Reticular adhesions.
Three-dimensional projection of a cancer cell that has been rounded to undergo cell division and adheres to the substrate with reticular adhesions. Blue – Chromatin (DNA); Red – Cell’s outer shell (membrane); Green/Yellow – Reticular adhesions. The image was created using a confocal microscope.
Image credits John Lock.

Cells are round-ish, soft-ish things. So then how do they tie together to form robust tissues? Well, the secret lies in a structure that surrounds them — a net-like formation known as the extracellular matrix. Much like the mortar in between bricks, this matrix brings cells together into a coherent whole.

Still, the matrix is an exclusive place — only those with special receptor molecules (adhesion complexes) on their surface are admitted. The structure discovered by the team is one such adhesion complex.

ADVERTISEMENT

Yet more to discover

“It’s incredibly surprising that there’s a new cell structure left to discover in 2018,” says principal investigator Staffan Strömblad, professor at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition at the Karolinska Institutet.

“The existence of this type of adhesion complex has completely passed us by.”

The team discovered a new type of protein complex that cells use to attach to their surroundings and plays a key part in cell division. Much like other adhesion complexes, it connects the outside to the cell interior and informs the cell about its immediate environment, affecting its properties and behavior. What’s special about this one is its unique molecular composition and shape — the team christened the structure ‘reticular adhesions’ to reflect their net-like shape.

While other known adhesion complexes break down during division, reticular adhesions remain intact and attached to the cell wall during the process. This discovery could help solve the long-standing question of how cells remain attached to the matrix as they divide. The team further reports that the new structure controls where daughter cells go after division, ensuring that they occupy the right place in the overall tissue.

“Our findings raise many new and important questions about the presence and function of these structures,” says Professor Strömblad. “We believe that they’re also involved in other processes than cell division, but this remains to be discovered.”

For the study, the team looked at human cell lines using confocal microscopy and mass spectrometry. To better understand the function of reticular adhesions, they add, further research efforts will need to examine them in living organisms.

Apart from the direct scientific merits of the discovery, the biggest takeaway (for me) from this research is that nature is way more complex and complicated than we give it credit for. We shouldn’t rest on our laurels because we’ve ‘discovered everything’ — we’re nowhere near done yet.

ADVERTISEMENT

The paper “Reticular adhesions are a distinct class of cell-matrix adhesions that mediate attachment during mitosis” has been published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

Tags: cellmatrixproteinReticular adhesionstissue
ShareTweetShare

How much money are you losing by not going solar? Use our savings calculator for rooftop solar.

Alexandru Micu

Alexandru Micu

Stunningly charming pun connoisseur, I have been fascinated by the world around me since I first laid eyes on it. Always curious, I'm just having a little fun with some very serious science.

ADVERTISEMENT

EDITOR'S PICKS

Leaf blowers are not only annoying but also bad for you (and the environment)
Environment

Leaf blowers are not only annoying but also bad for you (and the environment)

by Alexandru Micu
November 15, 2019 - Updated on November 17, 2019

It comes down to the inefficient engines they use.

Read more
What are greenhouse gases and why we need to worry about them? A simple explainer

What are greenhouse gases and why we need to worry about them? A simple explainer

November 15, 2019
The difference between programming and coding with Leslie Lamport

The difference between programming and coding with Leslie Lamport

November 15, 2019
Why ketamine is so good against depression

Why ketamine is so good against depression

November 8, 2019
pixabay-brain-fog

What is brain fog: the mental fatigue that ruins your mood

October 25, 2019
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
    • Animals
    • Climate
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Do you love science?

Join 50,000+ subscribers and get our FREE e-book on pseudoscience. 
SUBSCRIBE
close-link