Biologists Uncover Previously Unknown Structure Hiding Inside Human Cells

Even after decades in the cells, biologists always find surprises.

In a touch, researchers from the University of Virginia and the National Institutes of Health have discovered a new organel, nicknamed the hemifusoma. This small structure linked to the membrane serves as a cell recycling center and can hold the key to treat several genetic diseases. Research was published in Nature communications.

“It’s like discovering a new recycling center inside the cell,” said co-author Seham Ebrahim, biophysicist at the University of Virginia, in a statement. “We believe that the hemifusoma helps to manage the way the cells pack and treat the material, and when this process is wrong, it can contribute to diseases that affect many systems of the body.”

Scientists had not identified the structure before because it only appears if necessary. But thanks to cryo -electron tomography – an imaging technique that slides the cells and the 3D and almost atomic resolution – the researchers were able to observe the ephemeral structure.

Researchers say that hemifusomes can help the formation of cellular vesicles, tiny bags that shuttle and combine material throughout the cell. They could also help to form other organelles made up of several vesicles, suggests the study. However, some evidence shows that hemifusomes do not participate in endocytosis, the traditional path by which cells engulf the external material.

“You can think of vesicles like small delivery trucks inside the cell,” Ebrahim said in a press release. “The hemifusoma is like a loading care station where they connect and transfer the cargo. This is a step in the process that we did not know.”

Despite their ephemeral nature, the hemifusomes are not uncommon. They seem surprisingly common in certain parts of cells, especially near the cell membrane.

However, scientists do not know exactly how or why hemifusomes are formed and then disappear. They hope to discover it – as well as to understand what is happening when the hemifusomes do not work properly. Problems with the way the cells manage freight is the cause of many genetic disorders.

“This is only the start,” said Ebrahim in a statement. “Now that we know that hemifusomes exist, we can start asking how they behave in healthy cells and what’s going on when things go wrong. This could lead us to new strategies to treat complex genetic diseases. ”