Spectral phasor analysis of LAURDAN fluorescence in live A549 lung cells to study the hydration and time evolution of intracellular lamellar body-like structures

What is it about?

Using LAURDAN spectral imaging and spectral phasor analysis we concurrently studied the growth and hydration state of subcellular organelles (lamellar body-like, LB-like) from live A549 lung cancer cells at different post-confluence days. Our results reveal a time dependent two-step process governing the size and hydration of these intracellular LB-like structures. Specifically, a first step (days 1 to 7) is characterized by an increase in their size, followed by a second one (days 7 to 14) where the organelles display a decrease in their global hydration properties. Interestingly, our results also show that their hydration properties significantly differ from those observed in well-characterized artificial lamellar model membranes, challenging the notion that a pure lamellar membrane organization is present in these organelles at intracellular conditions.

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Why is it important?

Lamellar body-like structures show a significant increase in their hydration state upon secretion, suggesting a relevant role of entropy during this process.