Areas within human microvascular endothelial cells were scanned by X-ray fluorescence microprobe imaging at high resolution. The optical image is shown at the bottom, and metal maps are shown at the top. False-color images of phosphorus, copper and zinc are shown in the red, green and blue images, respectively, and their overlay is shown in the lower left quadrant, demonstrating a transfer of cellular copper across the cell membrane.

March 12, 2007 -- Some of this week's stories:

Cancer cells forming blood vessels send their copper to the edge

Kevin Brown

New information about a link between the growth of blood vessels critical to the spread of cancer and the copper in our bodies has been discovered by researchers from Argonne and The University of Chicago, using a beamline at the Advanced Photon Source.

Growing new blood vessels from existing ones — a process called angiogenesis — is important in growth, development and wound healing. But it also enables the spread of tumors throughout the body, so researchers have been scrambling for ways to stop angiogenesis in the fight against cancer.

One element critical to blood vessel growth is copper, a vital nutrient that plays important roles in many life processes. Compounds that reduce copper in the body without disrupting the body's normal functions can inhibit the growth of blood vessels — and some of these compounds are even in clinical trials for use in cancer therapy. Yet, the biological basis for this sensitivity of angiogenesis to copper has been an enigma.

In search of an answer, researchers from the Biosciences and X-ray Science divisions at Argonne and the Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology/Oncology, at The University of Chicago, have used X-ray fluorescence microprobe imaging at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne, the western hemisphere's most brilliant source of X-rays for research. The X-rays allowed the researchers to look at the distribution of copper in both a cell model of angiogenesis and sections of breast tumor tissue rich in blood vessels.

“We found that cells undergoing angiogenesis exhibit a distribution of their cellular copper that is distinctly different from other cells,” said Argonne biologist and lead author Lydia Finney (BIO). “This discovery may help explain how copper-reducing cancer therapy works.” The findings are reported in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS.

“We began our study,” Finney explained, “by examining a model of angiogenesis that uses human microvascular endothelial cells to form capillary-like structures within about eight hours of being stimulated with specific growth factors. We then examined the distribution of elements in these structures by using imaging resources.”

The APS played a key role in the research. The particular APS beamline Finney and her colleagues used employs specialized optics to focus coherent X-rays to sub-micrometer spot sizes, through which the sample is raster-scanned (scanning from side to side, top to bottom). By collecting emitted fluorescence spectra at each point using an energy-dispersive detector, the researchers obtained images displaying the concentration and spatial distribution of many elements, including phosphorous, sulfur, iron, copper and zinc. Overlaying these elemental maps onto optical images of the cells, Finney and her colleagues then correlated elemental content with cellular structures.

“Our findings were very clear,” said Finney. “We observed a dramatic relocalization of between 80 and 90 percent of cellular copper to the tips of the tendril-like projections angiogenic cells send out between one another and across the cellular membrane within the first two hours.” Copper did, indeed, appear to play a special role in angiogenesis, at least on the basis of this observation.

To extend these studies to a living organism, Finney and her colleagues then examined sections of breast tumor tissue that were rich in newly formed blood vessels. “Once again,” said Finney, “we found that in contrast to both non-vascularized areas and areas of mature blood vessels, in areas of tissue where blood vessels were newly invading surrounding tissue, the cells showed copper localized at the periphery of the cells and in areas immediately outside of any apparent cellular structures.”

Implications

According to Finney, “These findings improve our understanding of how removing copper from the body can help stop angiogenesis. If a drug can be used to intercept vital copper being translocated outside of the cell during angiogenesis, the process stops, preventing growth of the tumor.”

The implications of the research do not end with the effect on angiogenesis. The dynamics of cellular copper this study revealed also have broad implications on the regulation of the metal ion content in metal-binding proteins. If such dramatic changes in where cellular copper is stored and used can happen so rapidly during angiogenesis, then the interactions of metal ions, such as copper, with the proteins and macromolecules that bind them in the cell must have very fluid dynamics themselves.

Other authors on the study are Suneeta Mandava, Lyann Ursos, Wen Zhang, Diane Rodi, Stefan Vogt, Daniel Legnini, Jörg Maser and David Glesne of Argonne and Francis Ikpatt and Olufunmilayo I. Olopade of The University of Chicago.

The research and use of the Advanced Photon Source were supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

Argonne's Thackeray invited to the White House by President Bush

President Bush invited Argonne's Michael Thackeray (CMT) to the White House Feb. 23 for a round-table discussion on the role of lithium-ion batteries for transportation, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

As a battery expert, Thackeray provided an overview on advanced batteries, addressed the challenges of advanced battery research and development, and showed the path forward to achieving commercially viable lithium-ion battery-powered vehicles.

Industry representatives at the round table included A123 Systems and Phoenix Motorcars.

Argonne Director Robert Rosner said, “We are delighted that Michael has received such an august invitation from the White House. It attests to Argonne's expertise and the excellent work that is done here.”

Thackeray joined Argonne in 1994 and is currently an Argonne Distinguished Fellow and a group leader responsible for materials research and development in the Battery Department of Argonne's Chemical Engineering Division.

His research focuses on the development of advanced lithium-battery electrode materials, through an understanding of their structural and electrochemical relationships. He works on the compositional and structural design of transition-metal oxide cathode materials and intermetallic anode materials. He is the inventor of a new family of composite layered cathode materials and a new class of intermetallic anode materials, both of which promise to safely deliver higher energy than is possible with existing lithium-ion battery systems.

Thackeray has more than 170 research publications and holds 27 patents, some of which have led to the international commercialization of battery materials.

Argonne has been designated by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies as the lead national laboratory for that office's new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle program.

Arts at Argonne to host vocal ensemble ‘Tapestry'

Tapestry, a vocal ensemble, will perform at Argonne's Building 402 Conference Center Saturday, May 12, at 8 p.m.

The trademark of the ensemble is combining medieval repertory and contemporary compositions in bold conceptual programs. Critics have hailed the rich distinctive voices of the ensemble, their “technically spot-on singing,” their emotionally charged performances, their impeccably delivered harmony and complex counterpoint. Tapestry has appeared throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, and has recorded four CDs for Telarc and more recently with the German label MDG.

The concert is open to the public. Visitors who are U.S. citizens need photo identification to enter the site and should call to register before the concert. Non-U.S. citizens must register before the event by calling (630) 252-3751 during business hours.

Admission is $25. To order tickets, call ext. 2-3751 or mail a request using the online ticket request form. Remaining tickets will be available the week of May 7 in the Building 213 Cafeteria between noon and 1 p.m.

Papka named deputy associate director for Computing and Life Sciences

Michael E. Papka has been named deputy associate director for Computing and Life Sciences.

Papka joined Argonne in 1992. He was named research manager of the Futures Laboratory in the Mathematics and Computer Science Division in 2001 and was promoted to co-director in 2005.   He has led the visualization effort at The University of Chicago's Flash Center since 2000. He is the co-PI and visualization architect for the NSF TeraGrid resource at the university and a senior fellow of the Argonne/University of Chicago Computation Institute. 

“Mike has played a key role in our work in high-performance computing and advanced scientific visualization,” said Rick Stevens, associate laboratory director for Computing and Life Sciences. “His expertise and innovative thinking will help Argonne advance the frontiers of science by responding to new opportunities at the intersection of computing and biology.”

Papka is the coauthor of numerous research articles on visualization, collaboration technology and scientific computing. He has been actively involved in the integration of collaboration technology and science, co-founding the yearly Workshop on Advanced Collaborative Environments in 2001 and helping establish the Access Grid project.

Laser-trapping of rare element gets unexpected assist

Dave Jacqué

Argonne researchers have successfully laser-cooled and trapped atoms of radium — the first time this rare element has been captured in a magneto-optical trap — with an assist from an unexpected source.

The group of physicists was attempting to trap the rare, radioactive element for studies of time-reversal violation, explained Argonne Compton Postdoctoral Fellow Jeffrey Guest (PHY). Finding examples of this effect has implications for physics beyond the Standard Model and for explaining why the Big Bang yielded an imbalance between matter and antimatter in the universe.

Starting with less than a millionth of a gram of radium, the scientists vaporized, laser-cooled and captured the radium atoms in a magneto-optical trap.  “This is the first time this rare element has been laser-cooled and trapped,” Guest said. “It is the heaviest atom and only the second element with no stable isotopes (after francium) laser-trapped so far. It was particularly challenging to trap radium because quantities are scarce, and the atomic structure is not well studied and understood.”

Radium atoms were slowed to a crawl and captured with magnetic fields and laser beams tuned near the atoms' resonant frequency. Future experiments will probe the cold radium atoms with lasers as they spin in place in a large electric field. The atoms will precess — wobble about their axes like tops winding down — as they spin. The frequency of this precession may reveal a slight offset between the negative and positive charge within the atom along its spin axis, a signature of time-reversal violation.

“Because their nuclei are egg-shaped, radium nuclei should be very sensitive to the time-reversal effects we want to investigate,” Guest said. “However, radium is difficult to work with. Atoms tend to drift out of the trap, and because of radium's chemistry, it would stick to the walls of the vacuum chamber.”

However, researchers were surprised to find the radium atoms were staying put much longer than expected. “We were surprised to discover that room temperature blackbody radiation actually played a pivotal and supportive role,” Guest said.

Blackbody radiation is essentially heat; in this case, infrared radiation coming from the room-temperature walls of the apparatus. It's often a nuisance for experiments in physics, causing heating, contributing to background noise and scrambling quantum phases. However, when the radium atoms fell into metastable atomic states — in which the atoms could no longer “see” the trapping lasers — during the laser-cooling, the blackbody radiation added enough energy to the atoms to “recycle” them back to a configuration in which they could “see” the lasers again. This allowed the lasers to do their work and hold the atoms in place.

“This mechanism may be helpful in trapping other atoms with complex structure,” Guest said.

The current effort in the laboratory is focused on adding a dedicated measurement apparatus to the experiment to begin the search for evidence of time-reversal asymmetry, and experiments with radium nuclei will begin in earnest.

A report on this achievement has just been published — and marked as a “suggestion” by the editors — in Physical Review Letters (PRL 98, 093001 (2007)). It was also featured in the American Institute of Physics Physics News Update Feb. 20.

Physics Division researchers on this project include Guest, Nick Scielzo (now at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), Jin Wang, Zheng-Tian Lu, Roy Holt, Irshad Ahmad and Dave Potterveld, with Kevin Bailey and Thomas O'Connor providing engineering support. John Greene (PHY) and Del Bowers (CMT) prepared the radium samples. Health Physics support was supplied by Marian Williams (EQO).

DOE gives university high marks for Argonne management

The University of Chicago received high marks for its management and operation of Argonne in each of eight categories on its fiscal year 2006 report card from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. Though the DOE has always issued report cards for performance in the past, this year's appraisal process was unique in that it provided a common structure and scoring system across all 10 Office of Science laboratories. The assessment focused on the value added by contractors and the systems they put in place to manage and operate the laboratories. The new process went into effect for FY 2006, which ended last Sept. 30.

Argonne received grades of “A” for mission accomplishment, business systems, and for security and emergency management, and grades of “A-minus” for construction and operation of research facilities; science and technology project development and program management; and contractor leadership and stewardship. In the remaining categories, Argonne received a “B-plus” for facilities maintenance and infrastructure, and a “B” in environment, safety and health.

“The DOE's assessment reflects the tremendous focus we've placed on improvement over the past year,” said Argonne Director Robert Rosner. “We recognize, however, that there is still a lot of work to do. Our goal is to deliver performance beyond expectations in all the major assessment categories, and we think that's attainable.”

Next year, the university will be graded not only for its management of Argonne via UChicago Argonne, LLC, but also for its management of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, a contract recently awarded to Fermi Research Alliance, LLC, a partnership between the University of Chicago and Universities Research Association (URA).

“Overall, we are very pleased with the DOE's assessment of our performance in managing and operating Argonne, and we look forward to applying the knowledge, experience and lessons learned to our new role in co-managing Fermilab,” said Robert J. Zimmer, president of The University of Chicago and chairman of UChicago Argonne, LLC. “Both laboratories are fortunate to possess strong leadership and highly committed board members, in addition to a myriad of collaborative opportunities. These advantages will enable us to achieve extraordinary science and technological advances in the years to come in accordance with the goals set forth by the Department of Energy's Office of Science.”

More information about the Department of Energy Office of Science appraisal process is online.

Counterintelligence to host TSA air safety presentation

Argonne's Office of Counterintelligence will host a special presentation by representatives of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) U.S. Federal Air Marshal Service, Wednesday, March 14.

The presentation will provide Argonne travelers with important information regarding personal air travel safety and security and other critical information concerning foreign travel in the current environment. Following the presentation, a TSA explosives expert will display and discuss various models of explosive devices and equipment that have been recently used by terrorists.

There will be two sessions: the first from 10 a.m. to noon and the second from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Building 223, Room B002. Those interested in attending should contact the Office of Counterintelligence at ext. 2-5300 or ext. 2-6191 or Don Lichay at  dlichay@anl.gov to register for the session desired.

Volunteers needed for Boy Scout science badge day

Argonne employees are needed to help approximately 200 Boy Scouts earn their science badges during the Argonne Boy Scout Science Badge Day Saturday, March 24, from 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

The scouts, accompanied by their troop leaders, will earn badges in chemistry, computers, electricity, energy, engineering, geology and nuclear science. Volunteers are especially needed in the electricity and geology badge classes.

Contact Deon Ettinger (DEP) at ext. 2-4272 or ettinger@dep.anl.gov to register or for more information.

Flexible spending account claims due

Flexible spending account claims for 2006 must be postmarked by Saturday, March 31.

Employees can find claim forms in the Human Resources Benefits Department in Building 201, on the WageWorks Web site and on Inside Argonne (go to Resources, Benefits, Benefits Manual, Flexible Spending Accounts, Forms). The claim forms can be faxed or mailed to WageWorks.

For more information, contact WageWorks Customer Service, weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 877-924-3967, or e-mail help@wageworks.com.

Employees can also contact Fran Perri (HR) at ext. 2-2989.

Guest House chef to offer ‘Taste of the Mediterranean'

The Guest House's Chef Chris Kaminski will present a class on “Taste of the Mediterranean” Monday, March 19, and Tuesday, March 20, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Cost is $30; class size is limited. Payment and registration must be sent to the Argonne Guest House in Building 460 by the Monday, March 12, registration deadline. For more information, call Kathy at ext. 5-2006.