Physical Force Alone Spurs Gene Expressions, Study Reveals (phys.org) 21
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org: Cells will ramp up gene expression in response to physical forces alone, a new study finds. Gene activation, the first step of protein production, starts less than one millisecond after a cell is stretched -- hundreds of times faster than chemical signals can travel, the researchers report. The scientists tested forces that are biologically relevant -- equivalent to those exerted on human cells by breathing, exercising or vocalizing. They report their findings in the journal Science Advances.
In the new work, the researchers observed that special DNA-associated proteins called histones played a central role in whether gene expression increased in response to forces that stretched the cell. Histones regulate DNA, winding it up to package it in the nucleus of the cell. One class of histones, known as Histone H3, appear to prevent force-responsive gene expression when methylated at an amino acid known as lysine 9. Methylation involves adding a molecular tag known as a methyl group to a molecule. The scientists observed that H3K9 methylation was highest at the periphery of the nucleus and largely absent from the interior, making the genes in the interior more responsive to stretching. The researchers found they could suppress or boost force-responsive gene expression by increasing or decreasing H3K9 histone methylation. The scientists also tested whether the frequency of an applied force influenced gene expression. They found that cells were most responsive to forces with frequencies up to about 10-20 hertz.
In the new work, the researchers observed that special DNA-associated proteins called histones played a central role in whether gene expression increased in response to forces that stretched the cell. Histones regulate DNA, winding it up to package it in the nucleus of the cell. One class of histones, known as Histone H3, appear to prevent force-responsive gene expression when methylated at an amino acid known as lysine 9. Methylation involves adding a molecular tag known as a methyl group to a molecule. The scientists observed that H3K9 methylation was highest at the periphery of the nucleus and largely absent from the interior, making the genes in the interior more responsive to stretching. The researchers found they could suppress or boost force-responsive gene expression by increasing or decreasing H3K9 histone methylation. The scientists also tested whether the frequency of an applied force influenced gene expression. They found that cells were most responsive to forces with frequencies up to about 10-20 hertz.
This is /. (Score:3)
breathing
OK, we can do that...
exercising
What? And lose the 10 years of work and Mountain Dew and Cheetos I've put into achieving the perfect round shape? There's a reason we went into technology...
vocalizing
Are you NUTS? We have forums and chat apps for that!
Re: (Score:2)
You can easily see even from TFS that stretching your brain is more useful - soon we'll understand the mechanisms that translate this "physical force" into genetic action fully and finally have, thanks to these scientists, an "exercise pill".
We'll get the good shape without lifting a finger, except for a piece of chocolate to feed those brains.
Tell kids this stuff early (Score:3)
If this kind of info - or that there are different kinds of muscle, or what diabetes does - was available to nerds at a young age it could have life changing impact on their habits and lifestyles.
Completely wrong summary (Score:5, Interesting)
Molecular biologist here. This summary is so bad it makes me doubt the quality of summaries for which i have no knowledge.
Apart from the complete mistepresentation of how histones are made (each one has always 2 H3, together with others), the signal does NOT travel faster than a chemical signal, and nowhere is milliseconds mentioned. All that is mentioned is that the onset of transcription responses to pressure happens within the time period that a transcript may be finished, indicating that the response is not VIA transcription itself, but transduced fully by molecules already present.
Re: (Score:2)
This summary is so bad it makes me doubt the quality of summaries for which i have no knowledge.
You can stop being in doubt safely. They usually are.
Yes, there was a study recently where it was discovered that somewhere around 47% of /. postings discuss how broken the summary/article/editor is, 32% comment that the topic should not be on /., and the final 22% of the postings are pedants picking nits about other postings.
Re:Completely wrong summary (Score:5, Funny)
Don't worry, nobody takes the summaries and the popular articles here.
Every single slashdot poster immediately downloads the paper, connects to the Matrix, uploads the relevant scientific background, reads the article and the references and only then participates in the discussion - provided they have something useful to contribute.
Re: (Score:1)
Boobies.
Re: (Score:3)
Could you summarize the actual study, if it has anything interesting in it? Preferably using a car analogy.
Seems like old news. (Score:2)
So they discovered that chemical reactions occur faster when you stir the substrates?
Subwoofers = gene activators (Score:2)
See ... all those concerts, clubbing, and the car sound system? _that's_ why you're so healthy!
This could be ... (Score:3)
Trofim Lysenko is still wrong (Score:2)
But apparently not as dead wrong as he used to be.
ANY stress induces an increated amount of mutation (Score:1)