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Single-Cell and Nano-Scale Analyses in Nanobiology: Unveiling the Structural Basis of Viruses, Microbes, and Intracellular Organelles

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Nanoscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2025) | Viewed by 995

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto 606-8531, Japan
Interests: single molecule imaging of DNA, RNA, and protein; genome architecture of bacteria, archaea, and eukarya; biological application of atomic force microscopy
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent advances in cell/molecular analytical technologies have led to the identification of a variety of individual molecular and cellular events. Among them, the emerging field of phase separation has been found to play a crucial role in the regulation of biological processes. This Special Issue on the nanobiology of viruses, microbes, and intracellular organelles aims to explore the structural basis of their activities, including the cell cycle, dynamic intracellular structures with cytoskeletons, genome folding, and others, with a focus on the role of phase separation.

Contributions using single-cell/molecular imaging and manipulation techniques combined with other analytical methods will showcase their power to elucidate the key principles of folding and interaction of biological macromolecules. Furthermore, comparisons of the data obtained from these innovative approaches with data related to eukaryotic systems will provide insights into molecular and cell biology in general.

We invite submissions from researchers working in the field of nanobiology, with a focus on the role of phase separation in viruses, microbes, and intracellular organelles. We hope that this Special Issue will provide a platform for researchers to share their latest findings and insights, and contribute to our understanding of the fundamental principles of biological processes.

Sincerely,

Prof. Dr. Kunio Takeyasu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • microbial systems
  • single-cell analysis
  • nano-scale analysis
  • phase separation
  • intracellular organization
  • genome folding
  • cell cycle
  • cytoskeleton
  • molecular imaging
  • analytical methods

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 6092 KiB  
Article
Nanoscale Mechanical and Morphological Characterization of Ebolavirus-like Particles: Implications for Therapeutic Development
by Hannah Hargrove, Susana A. Torres-Hurtado, Wendy J. Maury and Xiaohui Frank Zhang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(11), 5185; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26115185 - 28 May 2025
Viewed by 107
Abstract
Zaire Ebolavirus (EBOV) is one type of filovirus that causes the deadly EBOV disease, with an average fatality rate of around 50%. EBOV outbreaks are devastating and unpredictable and may emerge as the next global pandemic. As a BSL-4 pathogen, EBOV is inaccessible [...] Read more.
Zaire Ebolavirus (EBOV) is one type of filovirus that causes the deadly EBOV disease, with an average fatality rate of around 50%. EBOV outbreaks are devastating and unpredictable and may emerge as the next global pandemic. As a BSL-4 pathogen, EBOV is inaccessible to regular biological laboratories. Therefore, EBOV virus-like particles (EBOV-VLPs) and EBOV pseudoviruses (EBOV-PVs) are utilized in the initial development of many potential therapies, for safety reasons and ease of procurement, as opposed to using infectious viruses. To investigate the host cell entry of EBOV and develop viral entry blockers, the EBOV model virions must accurately represent the morphological and mechanical properties of infectious EBOV virions. Due to the nanometer scale and irregular shape of EBOVs, these properties are challenging to characterize. In this research, state-of-the-art nanoscale characterization techniques are employed to examine the mechanical and structural elements of a selection of commonly used EBOV-approximating model virions. This study comprehensively determines the accuracy of EBOV approximation with a variety of model virions and the uniformity of mechanical and structural traits across different model virion types and preparation methods. This provides important implications for developing therapeutic treatments against EBOV using these model virions. Full article
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