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

细胞间变异是细胞群体的一个重要特性，它对理解胚胎发育、免疫系统、嗅觉以及许多其他正常和异常过程具有重要意义。细胞间变异性在这些过程中的作用目前还没有很好的理解，在这个项目中，一个重要的信号蛋白的活性将在一个单细胞，但社会，生物体的单个细胞中进行测量。这将逐个细胞地提供理解该系统中细胞变异性的重要性所需的分辨率。本科生将有机会从事跨学科研究，涉及生物化学，微流体，计算机模拟和新的分析工具的开发。环磷酸腺苷（cAMP）是一种信号（通过蛋白激酶B，PKB起作用），诱导细胞聚集和变形虫，盘基网骨藻生命周期的社会阶段的开始。 PKB的微流控单细胞测定将在网骨藻的单细胞上进行，从而能够定量测量变异性，并更好地理解这种变异性的意义，因为生物体响应cAMP信号。

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.