RUI: Substrate Reporters and Microelectrophoretic Tools for Lysate and Single-Cell Studies of PKB Activity in Dictyostelium discoideum

细胞间的变异是细胞群体的一个重要属性，它对理解胚胎发育、免疫系统、嗅觉和许多其他正常和异常的过程具有重要意义。细胞间的可变性在这些过程中的作用目前还不清楚，在这个项目中，一个重要的信号蛋白的活性将在单细胞但社会有机体的单个细胞中进行测量。这将提供逐个细胞的分辨率，以便在这个系统中理解细胞变异性的重要性。本科生将有机会从事涉及生物化学、微流体学、计算机模拟和新分析工具开发的跨学科研究。环磷酸腺苷(CAMP)是一种信号(通过蛋白激酶B(PKB)作用)，它诱导细胞聚集，并启动盘基网蹄甲变形虫生活史的社会阶段。PKB的微流控单细胞分析将在网柄蕨单细胞上进行，从而能够对变异性进行定量测量，并更好地理解这种变异性的意义，因为生物体对cAMP信号做出反应。

Cell-to-cell variation is an important property of cell populations that has implications for the understanding of embryonic development, the immune system, the sense of smell, and many other normal and abnormal processes. The role of cell-to-cell variability in these processes is currently not well understood, and in this project the activity of an important signaling protein will be measured in individual cells of a single-celled, but social, organism. This will provide, cell-by-cell, the resolution needed to understand in this system the significance of cell variability. Undergraduate students will have an opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary research involving biochemistry, microfluidics, computer simulations and the development of new analytical tools.Cyclic AMP (cAMP) is a signal (acting through Protein Kinase B, PKB) that induces cell aggregation and the onset of the social phase of the life cycle of the amoeba, Dictyostelium discoideum. Microfluidic single-cell assays of PKB will be carried out on single cells of Dictyostelium, enabling quantitative measurement of variability and a greater understanding of the significance of this variability as the organism responds to signaling with cAMP.