Question

Please write an essay for the following information for the Cell fusion technique:

Purpose - Brief description (one to two sentences) of the purpose of this method (ie. what is the general purpose for this technique? When would it be used?)

Background – This section will include a description of the concepts and theories that are needed to understand this technique.

Method description – this section will include an overview of the steps involved in carrying out the technique. This does not need to be as detailed as you would expect to find in a publication, but rather should include more of an outline of the experimental flow.

Advantages/limitations of the technique – This section should include at least 1 advantage and 1 limitation of the technique compared to other techniques.

Answer 1

Purpose:-

Cell fusion is an important cellular process in which several uninuclear cells (cells with a single nucleus) combine to form a multinuclear cell, known as a syncytium. ... Cell fusion is a necessary event in the maturation of cells so that they maintain their specific functions throughout growth.

Background :-

In 1847 Theodore Schwann expanded upon the theory that all living organisms are composed of cells when he added to it that discrete cells are the basis of life. Schwann observed that in certain cells the walls and cavities of the cells coalesce together. It was this observation that provided the first hint that cells fuse. It was not until 1960 that cell biologists deliberately fused cells for the first time. To fuse the cells, biologists combined isolated mouse cells, with the same kind of tissue, and induced fusion of their outer membrane using the Sendai virus (a respiratory virus in mice). Each of the fused hybrid cells contained a single nucleus with chromosomes from both fusion partners. Synkaryon became the name of this type of cell combined with a nucleus. In the late 1960s biologists successfully fused cells of different types and from different species. The hybrid products of these fusions, heterokaryon, were hybrids that maintained two or more separate nuclei. This work was headed by Henry Harris at the University of Oxford and Nils Ringertz from Sweden's Karolinska Institute. These two men are responsible for reviving the interest of cell fusion. The hybrid cells interested biologists in the area of how different kinds of cytoplasm affect different kinds of nuclei. The work conducted by Henry and Nils showed that proteins from one gene fusion affect gene expression in the other partner's nucleus, and vice versa. These hybrid cells that were created were considered forced exceptions to normal cellular integrity and it was not until 2002 that the possibility of cell fusion between cells of different types may have a real function in mammals.

​​​​​​Method :-

There are two methods that cell biologists and biophysicists use to fuse cells. These four ways include (1)electrical cell fusion
(2) thermoplasmonics.

(1).Electrical cell fusion:-
It is an essential step in some of the most innovative methods in modern biology. This method begins when two cells are brought into contact by dielectrophoresis. Dielectrophoresis uses a high frequency alternating current, unlike electrophoresis in which a direct current is applied. Once the cells are brought together, a pulsed voltage is applied. The pulse voltage causes the cell membrane to permeate and subsequent combining of the membranes and the cells then fuse. After this, alternative voltage is applied for a brief period of time to stabilize the process. The result of this is that the cytoplasm has mixed together and the cell membrane has completely fused. All that remains separate is the nuclei, which will fuse at a later time within the cell, making the result a heterokaryon cell.
(2).Thermoplasmonics :-
It induced cell fusion Thermoplasmonics is based on a near infrared (NIR) laser and a plasmonic nanoparticle. The laser which typically acts as an optical trap, is used to heat the nanoscopic plasmonic particle to very high and extremely locally elevated temperatures. Optical trapping of such a nanoheater at the interface between two membrane vesicles, or two cells, leads to immediate fusion of the two verified by both content and lipid mixing. Advantages include full flexibility of which cells to fuse and fusion can be performed in any buffer condition unlike electroformation which is affected by salt.

Advantages :-

This technique is use in :-

• For gene and chromosome mapping.

• For production of Induced stem cells.

Limitations :-

Cancer progresses through the accumulation of genetic alterations and chromosomal instability among various other factors. Tumor cells have been known for decades to have the capacity to fuse with each other and with non-tumor cells