<title>Illuminating cellular structure and function in the early secretory pathway by multispectral 3D imaging in living cells</title>

Complex protein glycosylation occurs through biosynthetic steps in the secretory pathway that create macro- and microheterogeneity of structure and function. Required for all life forms, glycosylation diversifies and adapts protein interactions with binding partners that underpin interactions at cell surfaces and pericellular and extracellular environments. Because these biological effects arise from heterogeneity of structure and function, it is necessary to measure their changes as part of the quest to understand nature. Quite often, however, the assumption behind proteomics that post-translational modifications are discrete additions that can be modeled using the genome as a template does not apply to protein glycosylation. Rather, it is necessary to quantify the glycosylation distribution at each glycosite and to aggregate this information into a population of mature glycoproteins that exist in a given biological system. To date, mass spectrometric methods for assigning singly glycosylated peptides are well-established. But it is necessary to quantify glycosylation heterogeneity accurately in order to gauge the alterations that occur during biological processes. The task is to quantify the glycosylated peptide forms as accurately as possible and then apply appropriate bioinformatics algorithms to the calculation of micro- and macro-similarities. In this review, we summarize current approaches for protein quantification as they apply to this glycoprotein similarity problem.

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Cellular structure and function

Oxford Handbook of Medical Sciences ◽

10.1093/med/9780198789895.003.0001 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-104

Keyword(s):

Plasma Membrane ◽

Nucleic Acids ◽

Cellular Structure ◽

Structure And Function ◽

The Body ◽

Signalling Pathways ◽

Cellular Functions ◽

Pharmacological Agents ◽

Intracellular Organelles ◽

And Function

‘Cellular structure and function’ covers the roles, structures, and functions of the main four types of macromolecules of the human body, namely proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids. For these macromolecules, the roles and types of each class are discussed (for proteins this includes their roles as structural proteins and enzymes and their kinetics; for lipids, the roles and types of lipid found in the body are considered; for carbohydrates, their roles including structural and metabolic are discussed; and the structure of nucleic acids is described). Then follows a description of the organization of the cell, including the plasma membrane and its components, and the intracellular organelles. Cell growth, division, and apoptosis are covered, as are the formation of gametes, and finally the principles of how cellular functions can be modulated by pharmacological agents through receptors and signalling pathways are discussed.

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Intracellular water and the cytomatrix: some methods of study and current views.

The Journal of Cell Biology ◽

10.1083/jcb.99.1.167s ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 99 (1) ◽

pp. 167s-171s ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

J S Clegg

Keyword(s):

Cell Biology ◽

Cellular Structure ◽

Large Fraction ◽

Cell Ultrastructure ◽

Structure And Function ◽

Intracellular Water ◽

Cell Fractionation ◽

Intact Cells ◽

Dilute Aqueous Solutions ◽

And Function

The extent to which the properties of water in cells are like those of water in dilute aqueous solutions is a question of broad significance to cell biology. A detailed answer is not available at present, although evidence is accumulating that the properties of at least a large fraction of intracellular water are altered by interactions with cell ultrastructure, notably the cytomatrix. That and related evidence also suggests that the properties, composition, and activities of the "aqueous cytoplasm" of intact cells bear little resemblance to those of the "cytosol" obtained by cell fractionation. This paper will consider some of the evidence for these possibilities and some of their potential consequences with regard to cellular structure and function.

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Meta!Blast: A Serious Game to Explore the Complexities of Structural and Metabolic Cell Biology

ASME 2010 World Conference on Innovative Virtual Reality ◽

10.1115/winvr2010-3708 ◽

2010 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Eve S. Wurtele ◽

Diane C. Bassham ◽

Julie Dickerson ◽

David J. Kabala ◽

William Schneller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Molecular Oxygen ◽

Cell Biology ◽

Cellular Structure ◽

Electron Excitation ◽

Structure And Function ◽

Domain Expert ◽

Proof Of Concept ◽

Virtual Plant ◽

And Function ◽

Virtual Interactive

Knowledge of cellular structure and function has increased dramatically with the advent of modern molecular and computational technologies. Helping students to understand cellular dynamics is a major challenge to educators. To address this challenge, we have developed the Kabala Engine, an open source engine based on OpenSG (http://www.opensg.org) and VRJuggler (http://www.vrjuggler.org). This engine is designed to enable biologists, and indeed any domain expert — chemists, artists, psychologists — to create virtual interactive worlds for teaching or research. As a proof-of-concept, we have used this engine to create Meta!Blast, a virtual plant cell containing a prototype chloroplast in which students can enter, activate the light reactions, including electron excitation, and create molecular oxygen and ATP.

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