Understanding how nanoparticles with different shapes interact with cell membranes is important in drug and gene delivery, but this interaction remains poorly studied. Using computer simulations, we investigate the physical translocation processes of nanoparticles with different shapes (for example, spheres, ellipsoids, rods, discs and pushpin-like particles) and volumes across a lipid bilayer. We find that the shape anisotropy and initial orientation of the particle are crucial to the nature of the interaction between the particle and lipid bilayer. The penetrating capability of a nanoparticle across a lipid bilayer is determined by the contact area between the particle and lipid bilayer, and the local curvature of the particle at the contact point. Particle volume affects translocation indirectly, and particle rotation can complicate the penetration process. Our results provide a practical guide to geometry considerations when designing nanoscale cargo carriers.

SUMMARY The altered metabolism of tumor cells confers a selective advantage for survival and proliferation, and studies have shown that targeting such metabolic shifts may be a useful therapeutic strategy. We developed an intensely fluorescent, rapidly responsive, pH-resistant, genetically encoded sensor of wide dynamic range, denoted SoNar, for tracking cytosolic NAD+ and NADH redox states in living cells and in vivo. SoNar responds to subtle perturbations of various pathways of energy metabolism in real-time, and allowed high-throughput screening for new agents targeting tumor metabolism. Among > 5,500 unique compounds, we identified KP372-1 as a potent NQO1-mediated redox cycling agent that produced extreme oxidative stress, selectively induced cancer cell apoptosis and effectively decreased tumor growth in vivo. This study demonstrates that genetically encoded sensor-based metabolic screening could serve as a valuable approach for drug discovery.

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The nucleolus is a prominent subnuclear compartment, where ribosome biosynthesis takes place. Recently, the nucleolus has gained attention for its novel role in the regulation of cellular stress. Nucleolar stress is emerging as a new concept, which is characterized by diverse cellular insultinduced abnormalities in nucleolar structure and function, ultimately leading to activation of p53 or other stress signaling pathways and alterations in cell behavior. Despite a number of comprehensive reviews on this concept, straightforward and clear-cut way criteria for a nucleolar stress state, regarding the factors that elicit this state, the morphological and functional alterations as well as the rationale for p53 activation are still missing. Based on literature of the past two decades, we herein summarize the evolution of the concept and provide hallmarks of nucleolar stress. Along with updated information and thorough discussion of existing confusions in the field, we pay particular attention to the current understanding of the sensing mechanisms, i.e., how stress is integrated by p53. In addition, we propose our own emphasis regarding the role of nucleolar protein NPM1 in the hallmarks of nucleolar stress and sensing mechanisms. Finally, the links of nucleolar stress to human diseases are briefly and selectively introduced.

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The nucleolus has been recently described as a stress sensor. The nucleoplasmic translocation of nucleolar protein nucleophosmin (NPM1) is a hallmark of nucleolar stress; however, the causes of this translocation and its connection to p53 activation are unclear. Using single live-cell imaging and the redox biosensors, we demonstrate that nucleolar oxidation is a general response to various cellular stresses. During nucleolar oxidation, NPM1 undergoes S-glutathionylation on cysteine 275, which triggers the dissociation of NPM1 from nucleolar nucleic acids. The C275S mutant NPM1, unable to be glutathionylated, remains in the nucleolus under nucleolar stress. Compared with wild-type NPM1 that can disrupt the p53–HDM2 interaction, the C275S mutant greatly compromises the activation of p53, highlighting that nucleoplasmic translocation of NPM1 is a prerequisite for stress-induced activation of p53. This study elucidates a redox mechanism for the nucleolar stress sensing and may help the development of therapeutic strategies.

Physical penetration of lipid bilayer membranes presents an alternative pathway for cellular delivery of nanoparticles (NPs) besides endocytosis. NPs delivered through this pathway could reach the cytoplasm, thereby opening the possibility of organelle-specific targeting. Herein we perform dissipative particle dynamics simulations to elucidate the transmembrane penetration mechanisms of multiple NPs. Our simulations demonstrate that NPs’ translocation proceeds in a cooperative manner, where the interplay of the quantity and surface chemistry of the NPs regulates the translocation efficiency. For NPs with hydrophilic surfaces, the increase of particle quantity facilitates penetration, while for NPs with partly or totally hydrophobic surfaces, the opposite highly possibly holds. Moreover, a set of interesting cooperative ways, such as aggregation, aggregation-dispersion, and aggregation-dispersion-reaggregation of the NPs, are observed during the penetration process. We find that the penetration behaviors of multiple NPs are mostly dominated by the changes of the NP-membrane force components in the membrane plane direction, in addition to that in the penetration direction, suggesting a different interaction mechanism between the multiple NPs and the membrane compared with the one-NP case. These results provide a fundamental understanding in the underlying mechanisms of cooperative penetration of NPs, and shed light on the NP-based drug and gene delivery.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), as a key component of the immune defense systems of organisms, are a promising solution to the serious threat of drug-resistant bacteria to public health. As one of the most representative and extensively studied AMPs, melittin has exceptional broad-spectrum activities against microorganisms, including both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Unfortunately, the action mechanism of melittin with bacterial membranes, especially the underlying physics of peptide-induced membrane poration behaviors, is still poorly understood, which hampers efforts to develop melittin-based drugs or agents for clinical applications. In this mini-review, we focus on recent advances with respect to the membrane insertion behavior of melittin mostly from a computational aspect. Membrane insertion is a prerequisite and key step for forming transmembrane pores and bacterial killing by melittin, whose occurrence is based on overcoming a high free-energy barrier during the transition of melittin molecules from a membrane surface-binding state to a transmembrane-inserting state. Here, intriguing simulation results on such transition are highlighted from both kinetic and thermodynamic aspects. The conformational changes and inter-peptide cooperation of melittin molecules, as well as melittin-induced disturbances to membrane structure, such as deformation and lipid extraction, are regarded as key factors influencing the insertion of peptides into membranes. The associated intermediate states in peptide conformations, lipid arrangements, membrane structure, and mechanical properties during this process are specifically discussed. Finally, potential strategies for enhancing the poration ability and improving the antimicrobial performance of AMPs are included as well.