How do you break the yolk without breaking an egg? Science is close to the answer

Researchers from the University of San Diego have developed a unique approach allowing entry into the cell nucleus without breaking the integrity of the outer membrane. It is like piercing the yolk of an egg without damaging the white or the shell.

To implement this “medical trick”, scientists created a series of nanopillars that resemble a microscopic bed of blunt nails. On this structure they placed different types of cells, pre-treated with a fluorescent dye. The experiment used heart muscle cells, skin and fibroblasts – structures involved in creating connective tissue in the body.

Observing the behavior of the cells, the scientists noticed that they were all located around nanopillars, which led to the bending of their nuclei. As a result, holes were formed in the nuclear membrane, but the outer structure remained intact. This was confirmed by the appearance of the dye from the nucleus in the cytoplasm. Interestingly, the holes in the nuclear membrane closed immediately after removing cells from the nanopillar array.

Zeinab Jahed, lead author of the study, emphasized the importance of the discovery: “This is very exciting because we can selectively create small holes in the nuclear membrane to directly access the nucleus, and at the same time maintaining the integrity of the rest of the cell. ”

The work of Jahed’s team deserves special attention, since the nuclear membrane is known for its strength and reliably protects the genetic material of the cell. Until now, only individual molecules or with the help of a needle were able to pass through, which threatened to damage the entire cell. A new gentle access method can give a strong impetus to the development of gene therapy and the creation of technologies for targeted drug delivery.

Now scientists are doing a deep study of the data, trying to find out the mechanisms behind this phenomenon and find their use in medicine.