Page 62 - AWSAR 2.0

38 || AWSAR Awarded Popular Science Stories - 2019
Mitochondrial transfer from stem cells (mitochondria are stained in red) to B16-ρ0cells (green) through the TNTs (yellow arrows).
nutrients. Such cells with inactive mitochondria are called ρ0 (Rho zero, the zero denotes inactive mitochondria). Many scientific groups (including our lab) have reported that when these ρ0 cells acquire functional mitochondria from other cancer cells, their initial cancerous properties are restored. This became the driving force for our investigation, and we asked: how do the cancer cell mitochondria (Ravana) orchestrate the ρ0 cells to become cancerousagain?Doesitinfluencethenucleus of the ρ0 cells (Sita) to execute
its villainous tendencies? What is the interaction between the
two?
To deliver a scientific
project, we have to choose
models in which we plan to
conduct experiments just like
fashion designers choosing
models to display their clothes.
We intended to see the
involvement of mitochondria
in cancer cells; therefore, we
chose ρ0 cells of skin cancer:
B16 melanoma [B16-ρ0] (cells
are very fast growing and
produce melanin, a pigment
that gives colour to the skin). The intrinsic mitochondria of these cells are inactive, making them a clean system to evaluate the changes made by the external mitochondria. Stem cells have been chosen as the source of
external mitochondria because they possess abundant mitochondria. They are the special cells of the body that can renew themselves and also develop into different cell types. They help the body in its growth, development and repair. After deciding the cell types, we set up experiments to transfer mitochondria from stem cells to the B16-ρ0 cells by temporarily labelling the B16-ρ0 cells as green and the mitochondria of the stem cells as red. Thus, the transferred mitochondria will appear highlighted as
reddish/orangish dots in the green B16-ρ0 cells under a microscope (a combination of lenses to magnify objects). We then separated such cells using fancy equipment (flow cytometer) and grew them to study their properties. The two cells communicate with each other in many different ways; one of them is through thin tubes called tunnelling nano tubes (TNTs). This may also involve an exchange of cellular materials as per the needs, just like we lend or take things from our neighbours in daily life.
Mitochondria may also travel from one cell to another in the TNTs. We also saw a transfer of mitochondria from stem cells to B16-ρ0 through the TNTs.
To deliver a scientific project, we have to choose models in which we plan to conduct experiments just like fashion designers choosing models to display their clothes. We intended to see the involvement of mitochondria in cancer cells; therefore, we chose ρ0 cells of skin cancer: B16 melanoma [B16-ρ0] (cells are very fast growing and produce melanin, a pigment that gives colour to the skin).