Biological complexity: how nucleus holds it shape (Introduction)

by David Turell , Monday, August 22, 2016, 20:09 (3015 days ago) @ David Turell

The nucleus of the cell is the largest object in the cell. when the cell is squeezed the nucleus has a protein mechanism to hold its shape:-https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160822140523.htm-"'There's a really complex network of proteins that keeps the cell from buckling in on itself when it's faced with a tight squeeze."-"The researchers pinpointed one protein responsible -- fascin -- that is known to be at unusually high levels in cancer cells. Originally, says Parsons, fascin was only thought to exist at the cell's edge as a "bundling protein," where it binds and stabilizes spiky finger-like protrusions called filopodia at the cell's plasma membrane. These structures allow the cell to sense its surrounding environment and pull itself through tissue. Now, the researchers have found that fascin also sits at the periphery of the nuclear envelope (the membrane that surrounds the nucleus), binding to different structures there to add stability and prevent collapse.-***-"'All cells have a cytoskeleton made from lots of filaments of a protein called actin that give the cell its architecture, but without other proteins added on, the skeleton will buckle under stress," says Parsons. "Proteins like fascin that bind onto this cytoskeleton add an element of stability and flexibility -- it makes the cell more mechanically stable and able to rapidly respond to the environment to change shape.-***-"By reducing intercellular levels of the fascin protein, they found that the cells were unable to squish their nuclei enough to fit into small channels."-Comment: Much of this article is about cancer research, but the point is to demonstrate how complex cell structure is. My view is the same. The more complexity, the more likely a mind planned multicellular life.