Subcellular localization and transport kinetics of ruthenium organometallic anticancer compounds in living cells: a dose-dependent role for amino acid and iron transporters.

Ruthenium-based compounds are developed for anticancer treatment, but their mode of action including their import mechanism and subcellular localization remains elusive. Here, we used the intrinsic luminescent properties of cytotoxic organoruthenium (Ru(II)) compounds obtained with an anionic cyclometalated 2-phenylpyridine chelate and neutral aromatic chelating ligands (e.g., phenanthrolines) to follow their behavior in living cells. We established that the difference in sensitivity between cancer cells and noncancerous cells toward one of the compounds correlates with its import kinetics and follows a balance between active and passive transport. The active-transport mechanism involves iron and amino-acid transporters, which are transcriptionally regulated by the drug. We also demonstrated a correlation between the accumulation of these compounds in specific compartments (endoplasmic reticulum, nucleus, mitochondria) and the activation of specific cytotoxic mechanisms such as the mitochondrial stress pathway. Our study pinpoints a novel and complex mechanism of accumulation of ruthenium drugs in cancer cells.

Encoding folding paths of RNA switches.

RNA co-transcriptional folding has long been suspected to play an active role in helping proper native folding of ribozymes and structured regulatory motifs in mRNA untranslated regions (UTRs). Yet, the underlying mechanisms and coding requirements for efficient co-transcriptional folding remain unclear. Traditional approaches have intrinsic limitations to dissect RNA folding paths, as they rely on sequence mutations or circular permutations that typically perturb both RNA folding paths and equilibrium structures. Here, we show that exploiting sequence symmetries instead of mutations can circumvent this problem by essentially decoupling folding paths from equilibrium structures of designed RNA sequences. Using bistable RNA switches with symmetrical helices conserved under sequence reversal, we demonstrate experimentally that native and transiently formed helices can guide efficient co-transcriptional folding into either long-lived structure of these RNA switches. Their folding path is controlled by the order of helix nucleations and subsequent exchanges during transcription, and may also be redirected by transient antisense interactions. Hence, transient intra- and inter-molecular base pair interactions can effectively regulate the folding of nascent RNA molecules into different native structures, provided limited coding requirements, as discussed from an information theory perspective. This constitutive coupling between RNA synthesis and RNA folding regulation may have enabled the early emergence of autonomous RNA-based regulation networks.

Probing complex RNA structures by mechanical force.

RNA secondary structures of increasing complexity are probed combining single molecule stretching experiments and stochastic unfolding/refolding simulations. We find that force-induced unfolding pathways cannot usually be interpreted by solely invoking successive openings of native helices. Indeed, typical force-extension responses of complex RNA molecules are largely shaped by stretching-induced, long-lived intermediates including non-native helices. This is first shown for a set of generic structural motifs found in larger RNA structures, and then for Escherichia coli's 1540-base long 16S ribosomal RNA, which exhibits a surprisingly well-structured and reproducible unfolding pathway under mechanical stretching. Using out-of-equilibrium stochastic simulations, we demonstrate that these experimental results reflect the slow relaxation of RNA structural rearrangements. Hence, micromanipulations of single RNA molecules probe both their native structures and long-lived intermediates, so-called "kinetic traps", thereby capturing -at the single molecular level- the hallmark of RNA folding/unfolding dynamics.

Buckling of actin-coated membranes under application of a local force.

The mechanical properties of composite membranes obtained by self-assembly of actin filaments with giant fluid vesicles are studied by micromanipulation with optical tweezers. These complexes exhibit typical mechanical features of a solid shell, including a finite in-plane shear elastic modulus ( approximately 10(-6) N/m). A buckling instability is observed when a localized force of the order of 0.5 pN is applied perpendicular to the membrane plane. Although predicted for polymerized vesicles, this is the first evidence of such an instability.

Viscoelastic properties of actin-coated membranes.

In living cells, cytoskeletal filaments interact with the plasma membrane to form structures that play a key role in cell shape and mechanical properties. To study the interaction between these basic components, we designed an in vitro self-assembled network of actin filaments attached to the outer surface of giant unilamellar vesicles. Optical tweezers and single-particle tracking experiments are used to study the rich dynamics of these actin-coated membranes (ACM). We show that microrheology studies can be carried out on such an individual microscopic object. The principle of the experiment consists in measuring the thermally excited position fluctuations of a probe bead attached biochemically to the membrane. We propose a model that relates the power spectrum of these thermal fluctuations to the viscoelastic properties of the membrane. The presence of the actin network modifies strongly the membrane dynamics with respect to a fluid, lipid bilayer one. It induces first a finite (omega=0) two-dimensional (2D) shear modulus G(0)(2D) approximately 0.5 to 5 microN/m in the membrane plane. Moreover, the frequency dependence at high frequency of the shear modulus [G(')(2D)(f ) approximately f(0.85+/-0.07)] and of the bending modulus (kappa(ACM)(f) approximately f(0.55+/-0.21)) demonstrate the viscoelastic behavior of the composite membrane. These results are consistent with a common exponent of 0.75 for both moduli as expected from our model and from prior measurements on actin solutions.

Microrheology of biopolymer-membrane complexes.

We create tailored microstructures, consisting of complexes of lipid membranes with self-assembled biopolymer shells, to study the fundamental properties and interactions of these basic components of living cells. We measure the mechanical response of these artificial structures at the micrometer scale, using optical tweezers and single-particle tracking. These systems exhibit rich dynamics that illustrate the viscoelastic character of the quasi-two-dimensional biopolymer network. We present a theoretical model relating the rheological properties of these membranes to the observed dynamics.