ITMO: A platform to study cell-to-cell communication

Main article: Targeted delivery of drugs in the body

2024: Presentation of the Intercellular Communication Research Platform

ITMO scientists have developed a platform to help investigate intercellular communication. Unlike existing systems, the proposed platform allows you to accurately determine where the cell is located, without interfering with its vital activity. This offers a chance to monitor cells in their natural habitat. The development will help restore cellular communication after injuries and create materials for targeted drug delivery. The results of the study are published in the journal Materials & Design. The university announced this on March 22, 2024.

source = ITMO

The uninterrupted work of organs and the body as a whole is largely ensured by intercellular communication. Cells distribute nutrients, participate in their synthesis and transport, help remove toxins and protect against infections. When intercellular communication is impaired, muscle and bone repair is difficult. Various diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, can also develop. To be able to correct this, you need to thoroughly understand the mechanism of cell interaction among yourself.

One of the mechanisms of signal transmission from cell to cell is ion currents. This is the movement of sodium, potassium and calcium ions through the cell membrane into the extracellular space and back into the cell. Each type of ion is responsible for a specific function: sodium cations conduct a nerve pulse, potassium cations regulate the membrane potential of the cell, and calcium cations help to contract muscles. Let's say a person feels pain or stress - in response, a substance is released in his body that initiates a reaction in the cell.

For example, norepinephrine (an adrenaline molecule) activates ion channels in an IP3 cell, and the cell releases calcium ions, while shrinking and transmitting a signal to its "neighbors." Further as in the domino effect: gradually the cells contract, and then the muscles.

Several types of systems are used to study ion currents. One of them is built on piercing the cell with a microelectrode, but such an influence can provoke the release of specific proteins that will interfere with measurements. For other types, cell tissue is grown, where they artificially make a break - but here, too, there is a possibility of cell damage. Scientists at the ITMO Scientific and Educational Center for Information Chemistry have created a biocompatible system for detecting ion currents in the extracellular space. It allows you to monitor cells in your natural habitat without interfering with their life activity.

Our system is based on hydroxyapatite (a mineral that forms bone tissue). The solution is represented by several Lizegang rings - concentric circles formed during the precipitation of the solution. Predominantly on these rings, we grew cells. One of the options for transmitting a signal between them occurs through ion channels. We added a calcium channel activator (norepinephrine) to use it to assess the features of signal distribution across and between rings. The second component of the system is flexible ion-selective electrodes. We used them to change the emerging ion currents. Wave-like redistribution of the signal after activation of ion channels proves the transmission of the signal between cells, - said Polina Zyryanova, first author of the study and engineer of the scientific and educational center of information chemistry ITMO.

As the authors of the project noted, the connection between the rings resembles a message between cities. Cells are located separately on rings, but at the same time "feel" each other at a distance, that is, they can transmit signals and grow towards, although they do not have senses or minds. Also, when developing a platform for cell communication, they found that the most intense cell growth occurred on the third ring of hydroxyapatite - there was also the maximum piezoelectric effect. It plays an important role in bone regeneration -- transforming mechanical pressure into electrical impulses that attract stem cells. They develop into osteoblasts and form new bone tissue or make the existing one denser.

For example, if a person is engaged in martial arts, the bones of his legs become more durable over time than those of an unsportsman. This difference arises precisely because of the constant mechanical pressure and the resulting piezoeffect. Studying the effect of the piezoeffect on intercellular interaction will help create functional materials for the targeted drug delivery system.

We proposed a model biomimetic system similar in properties to real bone with a piezoeffect. Additionally, substances can be introduced into it that will help cells grow faster or release drugs. These results may be useful in the development of accelerated cell regeneration-promoting implants. We plan to continue research on the restoration of impaired cellular communication, our goal is to create material that cells will take for "their own," - said Svetlana Ulasevich, one of the authors of the study and associate professor of the scientific and educational center of information chemistry ITMO.