Cell: Heavy found that chromosomes are a gel that helps explain the spread of cancer

Natural things follow certain laws, and physical laws are the basis of the universe.
The same is true for natural life, from birdsong to swimming animals, from photomassive to aerobic breathing, and in the final analysis, everything is governed by the laws of physics, including genetic regulation.
the charm of scientific research is that, in the 21st century, technological innovations have allowed humans to observe more microscopic structures within cells, and these new observations continue to overturn previous perceptions.
, for example, on December 13, 2018, Harvard University's Adam Cohen, Shi Zheng, and others published a research paper in cell magazine entitled Cell Membranes Resist Flow (Cell Membrane Anti-Flow).
The study suggests that cell membranes are actually closer to jelly-like semi-solids, challenging "flow mosaic models" and "lipid raft models" that have been compiled into high school and college textbooks, rewriting traditional theories about the fluid properties of cell membranes and their response to stress.
unique, researchers at the University of Alberta in Canada and Colorado State University in the United States also published a disruptive research paper in cell magazine entitled: Cored Chromatin Behaves like a Solid on the Mesoscale In Vitro and in Living Cells.
article points out that condensed chromatin exists in a solid state, its properties can resist external forces, and the formation of elastic gels, for chromatin binding protein liquid-liquid phase separation to provide a stent.
, seeing chromosomes as a gel allows us to understand more accurately how genomes are encoded and decoded.
chromosomes are the main structures of genetic material, chromosomes are made up of chromosomes, which in turn are made up of histones and DNA.
, the structure and state of chromatin is important for space-time control of the uerynomal genome - supporting gene expression and chromosomal DNA replication, and is closely related to the development of cancer.
Usually, we think chromatin is in a liquid state, and regulatory proteins can drift through the nuclei of cells until they meet the target DNA, unless molecules or large molecular substances near the DNA form obstacles.
but there have also been studies showing that the flow of matter in the nucleus is smaller than previously thought and more organized at the supermoleal level, due to the laws of physics associated with the state of matter.
study, the team tested the physical state of condensed chromatin in vitro and in vivo.
results show that the nuclear small body array in a variety of solution conditions of self-binding to produce supermolecule condensation, in which chromatin presents physical constraints and solid form.
chromosomal gels exhibit solid-phase behavior outside the body, the researchers found that chromosomal concentration in the body also showed solid behavior by measuring DNA fluidity in living cells.
, however, typical isochrome proteins exhibit liquid-like behavior and merge around solid chromosomal stents.
, even under the condition of limited interaction between chromosomal fibers, often chromosomal and heterochrometics exhibit solid behavior.
Dr Hilmar Strickfaden, lead author of the paper on heterochroma and cochromination behavior in living cells, said: "Although there is evidence of liquid compartments in isochroma, we found that chromatin itself is not liquid, so we concluded that chromatin is a solid-shaped stent that supports the assembly of liquid chambers, which are rich in specific effect proteins that penetrate into the fibrous substate.
noteworthy, a recent study showed that the ability to deform chromosomes in cancer cells is an important determinant of allowing them to squeeze through small spaces for metastasis.
based on this finding, the phenomenon could be better explained if it turns out that chromosomal gels can become less robust.
In cancer cells, chromatin may become less sticky if certain chemical modifications occur in the histone part, and when this process occurs at the same time as a change in the state of the chromatin gel, it will greatly reduce the strength of the chromatin gel, making it easier to deform, and allowing the cancer cells to spread throughout the body.
From this point of view, determining how the chromatin gel state is regulated, and finding or developing drugs that maintain the state of the chromatin gel solid state, can open up a whole new therapeutic path to prevent the metastasis of cancer cells.
Dr. Hilmar Strickfaden, the lead author of a model paper explaining the physical properties of chromatin and chromatin chambers, said he believes the discovery of chromatin gel-like states will provide guiding principles for future research that will allow humans to better understand how the physical properties of chromatin shape the function of the nuclei to ensure the health of cells and bodies! Not only that, but the team plans to verify the validity of another widely accepted hypothesis, that the physical size of molecules determines their ability to access DNA.
, preliminary results suggest that this may also be incorrect - the nature of the chromosome gel and the changes in the liquid micro-environment surrounding it may upend this perception!