Live imaging of biological processes : from single-cell NF-[kappa]B signaling to single-molecules in bacterial cell growth
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Cellular systems are constantly undergoing change, ranging from sudden responses to shifts in the extracellular environment to the more constant advancement of cell growth and cell division. Given the dynamic nature of biological processes, a great deal of insight can be gained simply by watching and recording their behavior over time. With improvements in microscopy and imaging techniques, we are now able to observe the dynamics of biological processes in live systems at the single-cell and single-molecule level. In this dissertation, I discuss two research projects where quantifying the behavior of live, individual cells provide new insights into how noise and variation play important roles. In the first study, we quantified and modeled the activation dynamics of the transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-[kappa] B in response to stimulation by the cytokine tumor necrosis factor-[alpha] (TNF-[alpha]) and the bacterial immune challenge lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Using live, single-cell imaging, we show that the variation in LPS responses can be attributed to a 'noisy' paracrine signal. In the second study, we characterized the coordination between two proteins that confer cell shape in the bacterium Escherichia coli, the cytoskeletal protein MreB and the cell wall synthase penicillin binding protein 2 (PBP2). Our measurements of PBP2 suggest that single molecules of PBP2 undergo random, diffusive movements where PBP2 transiently interacts with the rest of the synthesis machinery. Furthermore, we show that one feature of this behavior is to buffer cell wall growth rate against large fluctuations in enzyme abundance.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2014 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Lee, Timothy Kohan |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Bioengineering. |
| Primary advisor | Huang, Kerwyn Casey, 1979- |
| Thesis advisor | Huang, Kerwyn Casey, 1979- |
| Thesis advisor | Bryant, Zev David |
| Thesis advisor | Covert, Markus |
| Advisor | Bryant, Zev David |
| Advisor | Covert, Markus |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Timothy Kohan Lee. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Bioengineering. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2014. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2014 by Timothy Kohan Lee
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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