细胞“穿衣”长葆年轻：中国学者发现细胞保存新方法

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China experts develop shells to preserve cells longer

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scientists in China have developed \"shells\" that can wrap around living cells and preserve them, and hope to use the technique in cell transplants to repair damaged human tissues and to battle cancer.
香港(路透社)——中国的科学家发明了一种能包裹和保存活细胞的“壳”，有望用这种技术进行细胞移植以修理坏死的人体组织并且用于抗癌。

In the journal Angewandte Chemie, the researchers described how they grew these artificial shells around yeast cells. The mineral coating kept more than 80 percent of the yeast cells alive after a month at room temperature.
研究者在《应用化学》（德）中描述他们如何在酵母细胞周围培育那些人造壳的。在室温条件下，一个月之后矿物质在酵母表面的覆盖率超过了80%。

Unclothed yeast cells die way before a month is up.
不到一个月裸露酵母细胞死亡率增加。

\"This coating is made of calcium phosphate, (the material in) bone and tooth in mammals. It is biologically compatible and living cells would still be alive after getting the coating,\" said Tang Ruikang at the Zhejiang University in eastern China.
“这层外衣由哺乳动物的骨头和牙齿中（的材料）的磷酸钙构成。覆盖这种外衣，在生物学上是完全相容的且活细胞仍然能够存活的，”在中国东部浙江大学的唐瑞康（音译）说。

\"The function of the shell is very close to clothes that we wear. The clothes can't change the nature of the human, but they can protect us,\" he said in a telephone interview.
“这个壳的作用是非常紧密的包裹细胞。这层衣服不会改变人类的自然状态，但他们能保护我们，”他在一个电话采访中说。

Tang's team was inspired by the simplicity of eggshells; how a single cell was protected by a thin mineral layer.
唐的团队从简单的蛋壳中得到启发：一个单细胞是如何用一种薄的矿物质层保护的。

Using synthetic molecules which acted as scaffolding, they managed to grow calcium phosphate around yeast cells.
用合成分子作为骨架，他们控制磷酸钙围着酵母细胞生长。

Looking ahead, Tang wants to grow these shells around living human cells, before implanting them into damaged bones or other human tissues to repair them.
展望未来，唐希望用这些壳围绕人类细胞生长，把他们灌注到坏死的骨骼或其它人体组织中进行修复。

\"When we implant cells into bones, the cells must be kept at very low temperatures, but with this technique we can wrap the cells and keep them alive for a long time in room temperature and then implant them into the living system,\" Tang said.
“原来把细胞灌注到骨骼中时，细胞必需保持在非常低的温度，但用这种技术我们能包裹细胞并且让他们在室温下存活很长一段时间，然后灌注到活体组织内，”唐说。

Tang hopes the technique may one day be used to kill cancer cells.
唐希望这项技术有一天被用于杀死癌细胞。

\"We can also wrap viruses and deliver them into cancer cells. Cancer cells love to eat calcium phosphate and once the shells are broken down, the viruses are released and they can eat up cancer cells,\" Tang said. “我们也能包裹病毒并传送他们进入癌细胞。癌细胞喜欢吃磷酸钙，并且只要这个壳被破碎，病毒就释放出来并吃掉癌细胞，”唐说。


很有前景的一种药物载体
唐教授是浙江大学材料化工学院教授，长江特聘教授，从事生物矿化方面研究。为人谦和，是一位很有潜力的年轻学者。