Probing the structure of water in individual living cells.

Autor: Lang X; Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA., Shi L; Shanghai Xuhui Central Hospital, Zhongshan-Xuhui Hospital, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, International Co-laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China., Zhao Z; Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA., Min W; Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA. wm2256@columbia.edu.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Nature communications [Nat Commun] 2024 Jun 20; Vol. 15 (1), pp. 5271. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 20.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49404-9
Abstrakt: Water regulates or even governs a wide range of biological processes. Despite its fundamental importance, surprisingly little is known about the structure of intracellular water. Herein we employ a Raman micro-spectroscopy technique to uncover the composition, abundance and vibrational spectra of intracellular water in individual living cells. In three different cell types, we show a small but consistent population (~3%) of non-bulk-like water. It exhibits a weakened hydrogen-bonded network and a more disordered tetrahedral structure. We attribute this population to biointerfacial water located in the vicinity of biomolecules. Moreover, our whole-cell modeling suggests that all soluble (globular) proteins inside cells are surrounded by, on average, one full molecular layer (about 2.6 Angstrom) of biointerfacial water. Furthermore, relative invariance of biointerfacial water is observed among different single cells. Overall, our study not only opens up experimental possibilities of interrogating water structure in vivo but also provides insights into water in life.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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