A doctoral dissertation recently defended at Tallinn University of Technology confirms a paradoxical observation – smaller molecules decelerate in myocytes at a higher rate than larger ones.
It would probably be rather difficult for most people to see a connection between lab mice and the Institute of Cybernetics at TUT. Nevertheless, the basement of the Institute includes a room where these small animals help to improve our knowledge of cardiac mechanisms. The Laboratory of Systems Biology also performs tests on rats and fishes, as they all have different cell structures. The research at the Laboratory is focused particularly on heart cells, using both animals and mathematical models.
Mitochondria produce ATP molecules, which store chemical energy for conversion into mechanical energy in muscle cells. The oxygen inhaled by us is, in fact, used for the production of ATP. However, some diseases cause a change in the movement or, more specifically, diffusion of ATP molecules – it is restricted in healthy cells and facilitated in diseased cells, interfering with proper cell function. That is why the movement of ATP molecules interests scientists.
The doctoral dissertation defended in February by Ardo Illaste, lab engineer at the Laboratory of Systems Biology, confirms the paradox that the movement of smaller ATP molecules in cells is restricted more than that of larger ones. While certain small molecules normally move four times faster than large ones, this difference drops to 1.7 inside the cell. “I could not say that the problem is now solved,” said Illaste himself modestly. “We do not know yet, what type of obstacle we are dealing with. Hopefully, we will discover this in the future. Now that would be something.”
In total, the Laboratory has 17 researchers, including 8 doctoral students. Some have a background in gene technology, others in technical physics. The latter group, including Illaste, is also working on mathematical modelling. The Laboratory has a couple of hundred processors available for modelling. “Mathematical methods provide us with additional information, which could go unnoticed during laboratory tests,” explained Illaste. In his doctoral research, supervised by Marko Vendelin, Illaste also applied mathematics by creating a model of barriers, approximating cell structure, that affect the movement of molecules.
The microscopes used in laboratory tests have been designed by the researchers at the Laboratory, as there was no suitable solution on the market. Similarly, they wrote the software for the equipment.
The Laboratory of Systems Biology has a five-year research plan. In 2007, the Laboratory received a five-year grant from British Wellcome Trust Fellowship. An application for a follow-up grant has been submitted and, according to Illaste, initial feedback has been positive. It would be difficult for the Laboratory to survive using only financing from Estonia.
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