21/08/2026
Un nou organit celular descoperit recent cu rol în transportul celular a cărui disfuncție poate fi implicată în afecțiuni neurologice
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Scientists Discover Previously Unknown Cellular Structure
Researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, working with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have identified a previously unknown cellular structure called the hemifusome, offering a new perspective on how materials are transported and organized inside human cells. The discovery was made possible through cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET), an advanced imaging technique that rapidly freezes biological samples and reconstructs them in three dimensions at extremely high resolution. The ability to observe cells at this level of detail allowed researchers to identify a structure that had remained hidden despite decades of intensive cell biology research.
The hemifusome appears to be associated with vesicle trafficking, the cellular transport system responsible for moving proteins, lipids, and other molecular cargo between different compartments. Vesicles are small membrane-bound structures that function much like microscopic delivery vehicles, carrying materials to specific destinations within the cell. Researchers believe the hemifusome may serve as a point where different membrane-trafficking pathways meet and coordinate. Understanding this process could be important because disruptions in intracellular trafficking have been associated with various diseases and cellular disorders, including neurological conditions.
The discovery is particularly remarkable because finding an entirely new cellular structure is relatively uncommon in modern biology. Scientists have studied major organelles such as the nucleus, mitochondria, lysosomes, and Golgi apparatus for generations, yet improved imaging technologies continue to reveal previously unseen structures and interactions. Researchers emphasize that much remains unknown about the hemifusome, including its precise molecular composition, functions, and role in different cell types. The finding demonstrates that even inside one of the most extensively studied systems in biology, advanced microscopy can still uncover new aspects of cellular organization that may eventually improve our understanding of health and disease.
Source/References:
[1] Tavakoli, A., Hu, S., Ebrahim, S. et al. Hemifusomes and interacting proteolipid nanodroplets mediate multi-vesicular body formation. Nat Commun 16, 4609 (2025).
Science Department |
