Terahertz Zaps Alter Gene Activity In Stem Cells
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Terahertz light pulses change gene expression in stem cells, report researchers from Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) and Tokai University in Japan in the journal Optics Letters. The findings come thanks to a new tool, with implications for stem cell research and regenerative therapy development.
[...] iCeMS microengineer Ken-ichiro Kamei and physicist Hideki Hirori worked with colleagues to develop a better tool for investigating what happens when terahertz pulses are shone on human cells. The apparatus overcomes issues with previous techniques by placing cells in tiny microwells that have the same area as the terahertz light.
[...] For example, they found the pulses activated genes involved in motor neuron survival and mitochondrial function. They also deactivated genes involved in cell differentiation, the process in which stem cells change into specialized body cells.
Further investigation found that these genes were influenced by zinc-dependent transcription factors. The scientists believe the terahertz pulses generate an electric field that causes zinc ions to move inside cells, impacting the function of transcription factors, which in turn activate or deactivate the genes they are responsible for.
Hirori says the findings could aid efforts to develop a technology that can manipulate iPSC differentiation into specific cells by turning off specific genes while keeping others on, paving the way for regenerative therapies for a wide range of diseases.
Journal Reference:
Takehiro Tachizaki, Reiko Sakaguchi, Shiho Terada, et al. Terahertz pulse-altered gene networks in human induced pluripotent stem cells, Optics Letters (DOI: 10.1364/OL.402815)
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