1
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Feng J, Gong Y, Li Q, Yang C, An Y, Wu L. In Situ Detection of Nucleic Acids in Extracellular Vesicles via Membrane Fusion. Chemistry 2024; 30:e202304111. [PMID: 38486422 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202304111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry diverse biomolecules (e. g., nucleic acids, proteins) for intercellular communication, serving as important markers for diseases. Analyzing nucleic acids derived from EVs enables non-invasive disease diagnosis and prognosis evaluation. Membrane fusion, a fundamental cellular process wherein two lipid membranes merge, facilitates cell communication and cargo transport. Building on this natural phenomenon, recent years have witnessed the emergence of membrane fusion-based strategies for the detection of nucleic acids within EVs. These strategies entail the encapsulation of detection probes within either artificial or natural vesicles, followed by the induction of membrane fusion with EVs to deliver probes. This innovative approach not only enables in situ detection of nucleic acids within EVs but also ensures the maintenance of structural integrity of EVs, thus preventing nucleic acid degradation and minimizing the interference from free nucleic acids. This concept categorizes approaches into universal and targeted membrane fusion strategies, and discusses their application potential, and challenges and future prospects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianzhou Feng
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, P. R. China
| | - Yanli Gong
- College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, P. R. China
| | - Qianqian Li
- College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, P. R. China
| | - Chaoyong Yang
- College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, P. R. China
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, P. R. China
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis and Instrumentation, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, Fujian, P. R. China
| | - Yu An
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, P. R. China
| | - Lingling Wu
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, P. R. China
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2
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Peruzzi JA, Steinkühler J, Vu TQ, Gunnels TF, Hu VT, Lu P, Baker D, Kamat NP. Hydrophobic mismatch drives self-organization of designer proteins into synthetic membranes. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3162. [PMID: 38605024 PMCID: PMC11009411 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47163-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The organization of membrane proteins between and within membrane-bound compartments is critical to cellular function. Yet we lack approaches to regulate this organization in a range of membrane-based materials, such as engineered cells, exosomes, and liposomes. Uncovering and leveraging biophysical drivers of membrane protein organization to design membrane systems could greatly enhance the functionality of these materials. Towards this goal, we use de novo protein design, molecular dynamic simulations, and cell-free systems to explore how membrane-protein hydrophobic mismatch could be used to tune protein cotranslational integration and organization in synthetic lipid membranes. We find that membranes must deform to accommodate membrane-protein hydrophobic mismatch, which reduces the expression and co-translational insertion of membrane proteins into synthetic membranes. We use this principle to sort proteins both between and within membranes, thereby achieving one-pot assembly of vesicles with distinct functions and controlled split-protein assembly, respectively. Our results shed light on protein organization in biological membranes and provide a framework to design self-organizing membrane-based materials with applications such as artificial cells, biosensors, and therapeutic nanoparticles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin A Peruzzi
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Jan Steinkühler
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Timothy Q Vu
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Taylor F Gunnels
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Vivian T Hu
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Peilong Lu
- Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Neha P Kamat
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
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3
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Peruzzi JA, Vu TQ, Gunnels TF, Kamat NP. Rapid Generation of Therapeutic Nanoparticles Using Cell-Free Expression Systems. SMALL METHODS 2023; 7:e2201718. [PMID: 37116099 PMCID: PMC10611898 DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202201718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The surface modification of membrane-based nanoparticles, such as liposomes, polymersomes, and lipid nanoparticles, with targeting molecules, such as binding proteins, is an important step in the design of therapeutic materials. However, this modification can be costly and time-consuming, requiring cellular hosts for protein expression and lengthy purification and conjugation steps to attach proteins to the surface of nanocarriers, which ultimately limits the development of effective protein-conjugated nanocarriers. Here, the use of cell-free protein synthesis systems to rapidly create protein-conjugated membrane-based nanocarriers is demonstrated. Using this approach, multiple types of functional binding proteins, including affibodies, computationally designed proteins, and scFvs, can be cell-free expressed and conjugated to liposomes in one-pot. The technique can be expanded further to other nanoparticles, including polymersomes and lipid nanoparticles, and is amenable to multiple conjugation strategies, including surface attachment to and integration into nanoparticle membranes. Leveraging these methods, rapid design of bispecific artificial antigen presenting cells and enhanced delivery of lipid nanoparticle cargo in vitro is demonstrated. It is envisioned that this workflow will enable the rapid generation of membrane-based delivery systems and bolster our ability to create cell-mimetic therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin A. Peruzzi
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Timothy Q. Vu
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Taylor F. Gunnels
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Neha P. Kamat
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
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4
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Gonzales DT, Suraritdechachai S, Tang TYD. Compartmentalized Cell-Free Expression Systems for Building Synthetic Cells. ADVANCES IN BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING/BIOTECHNOLOGY 2023; 186:77-101. [PMID: 37306700 DOI: 10.1007/10_2023_221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
One of the grand challenges in bottom-up synthetic biology is the design and construction of synthetic cellular systems. One strategy toward this goal is the systematic reconstitution of biological processes using purified or non-living molecular components to recreate specific cellular functions such as metabolism, intercellular communication, signal transduction, and growth and division. Cell-free expression systems (CFES) are in vitro reconstitutions of the transcription and translation machinery found in cells and are a key technology for bottom-up synthetic biology. The open and simplified reaction environment of CFES has helped researchers discover fundamental concepts in the molecular biology of the cell. In recent decades, there has been a drive to encapsulate CFES reactions into cell-like compartments with the aim of building synthetic cells and multicellular systems. In this chapter, we discuss recent progress in compartmentalizing CFES to build simple and minimal models of biological processes that can help provide a better understanding of the process of self-assembly in molecularly complex systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- David T Gonzales
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | | | - T -Y Dora Tang
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
- Physics of Life, Cluster of Excellence, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
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5
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Paez-Perez M, Russell IA, Cicuta P, Di Michele L. Modulating membrane fusion through the design of fusogenic DNA circuits and bilayer composition. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:7035-7044. [PMID: 36000473 PMCID: PMC9516350 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm00863g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Membrane fusion is a ubiquitous phenomenon linked to many biological processes, and represents a crucial step in liposome-based drug delivery strategies. The ability to control, ever more precisely, membrane fusion pathways would thus be highly valuable for next generation nano-medical solutions and, more generally, the design of advanced biomimetic systems such as synthetic cells. In this article, we present fusogenic nanostructures constructed from synthetic DNA which, different from previous solutions, unlock routes for modulating the rate of fusion and making it conditional to the presence of soluble DNA molecules, thus demonstrating how membrane fusion can be controlled through simple DNA-based molecular circuits. We then systematically explore the relationship between lipid-membrane composition, its biophysical properties, and measured fusion efficiency, linking our observations to the stability of transition states in the fusion pathway. Finally, we observe that specific lipid compositions lead to the emergence of complex bilayer architectures in the fusion products, such as nested morphologies, which are accompanied by alterations in biophysical behaviour. Our findings provide multiple, orthogonal strategies to program lipid-membrane fusion, which leverage the design of either the fusogenic DNA constructs or the physico/chemical properties of the membranes, and could thus be valuable in applications where some design parameters are constrained by other factors such as material cost and biocompatibility, as it is often the case in biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Paez-Perez
- Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- fabriCELL, Imperial College London, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - I Alasdair Russell
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0RE, UK
| | - Pietro Cicuta
- Biological and Soft Systems, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK.
| | - Lorenzo Di Michele
- Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- fabriCELL, Imperial College London, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK
- Biological and Soft Systems, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK.
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6
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Xie M, Wang F, Yang J, Guo Y, Ding F, Lu X, Huang Y, Li Y, Zhu X, Zhang C. DNA Zipper Mediated Membrane Fusion for Rapid Exosomal MiRNA Detection. Anal Chem 2022; 94:13043-13051. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c01980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Miao Xie
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Fujun Wang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jiapei Yang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yuanyuan Guo
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 600 Yi Shan Road, Shanghai 200235, China
| | - Fei Ding
- Shanghai Institute of Transplantation, Department of Liver Surgery, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, China
| | - Xinmiao Lu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 197 Ruijin 2nd Road, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Yangyang Huang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yimeng Li
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Xinyuan Zhu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Chuan Zhang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
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7
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Abstract
Artificially induced in vitro cell fusion is one essential technique that has been extensively used for biological studies. Nevertheless, there is a lack of robust and efficient method to produce fused cells efficiently. Herein, we proposed to use cell-membrane-anchored polyvalent DNA ligands (PDL) to bring cells into close proximity by forming clusters to enhance PEG-induced cell fusion. PDL of complementary sequences are separately anchored onto different population of cells through cholesterol-induced hydrophobic insertion into lipid membrane. Cells are clustered via mixing cells of complementary PDL prior to cell fusion. PDL exhibited strong stability on cell membrane, induced efficient cell clustering, and eventually achieved cell fusion efficiently in combination with PEG induction. We demonstrated homogeneous and heterogeneous cell fusion of high yield on various cell types. This report presented a programmable yet robust technique for achieving efficient cell fusion that hold great application potentials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Gao
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Nanomedicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China
| | - Donglei Yang
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Nanomedicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China
| | - Fan Xu
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Nanomedicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China
| | - Xiaowei Ma
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Nanomedicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China
| | - Pengfei Wang
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Nanomedicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China
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8
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Webster ER, Liu KN, Rawle RJ, Boxer SG. Modulating the Influenza A Virus-Target Membrane Fusion Interface With Synthetic DNA-Lipid Receptors. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:2354-2362. [PMID: 35143209 PMCID: PMC9038422 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c03247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Influenza A virus (IAV) binds to sialylated glycans on the cell membrane before endocytosis and fusion. Cell-surface glycans are highly heterogeneous in length and glycosylation density, which leads to variations in the distance and rigidity with which IAV is held away from the cell membrane. To gain mechanistic insight into how receptor length and rigidity impact the mechanism of IAV entry, we employed synthetic DNA-lipids as highly tunable surrogate receptors. We tethered IAV to target membranes with a panel of DNA-lipids to investigate the effects of the distance and tether flexibility between virions and target membranes on the kinetics of IAV binding and fusion. Tether length and the presence of a flexible linker led to higher rates of IAV binding, while the efficiencies of lipid and content mixing were typically lower for longer and more rigid DNA tethers. For all DNA tether modifications, we found that the rates of IAV lipid and content mixing were unchanged. These results suggest that variations in the interface between IAV and a target membrane do not significantly impact the rate-limiting step of fusion or the low-pH-triggered engagement of viral fusion peptides with the target membrane. However, our results imply that the flexibility of the viral receptor is important for ensuring that hemifusion events are able to successfully proceed to pore formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth R Webster
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Katherine N Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Robert J Rawle
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Steven G Boxer
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
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9
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Gaut NJ, Gomez-Garcia J, Heili JM, Cash B, Han Q, Engelhart AE, Adamala KP. Programmable Fusion and Differentiation of Synthetic Minimal Cells. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:855-866. [PMID: 35089706 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic cells can mimic the intricate complexities of live cells, while mitigating the level of noise that is present natural systems; however, many crucial processes still need to be demonstrated in synthetic cells to use them to comprehensively study and engineer biology. Here we demonstrate key functionalities of synthetic cells previously available only to natural life: differentiation and mating. This work presents a toolset for engineering combinatorial genetic circuits in synthetic cells. We demonstrate how progenitor populations can differentiate into new lineages in response to small molecule stimuli or as a result of fusion, and we provide practical demonstration of utility for metabolic engineering. This work provides a tool for bioengineering and for natural pathway studies, as well as paving the way toward the construction of live artificial cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel J. Gaut
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407 United States
| | - Jose Gomez-Garcia
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407 United States
| | - Joseph M. Heili
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407 United States
| | - Brock Cash
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407 United States
| | - Qiyuan Han
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407 United States
| | - Aaron E. Engelhart
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407 United States
| | - Katarzyna P. Adamala
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407 United States
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10
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Sharma B, Moghimianavval H, Hwang SW, Liu AP. Synthetic Cell as a Platform for Understanding Membrane-Membrane Interactions. MEMBRANES 2021; 11:912. [PMID: 34940413 PMCID: PMC8706075 DOI: 10.3390/membranes11120912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
In the pursuit of understanding life, model membranes made of phospholipids were envisaged decades ago as a platform for the bottom-up study of biological processes. Micron-sized lipid vesicles have gained great acceptance as their bilayer membrane resembles the natural cell membrane. Important biological events involving membranes, such as membrane protein insertion, membrane fusion, and intercellular communication, will be highlighted in this review with recent research updates. We will first review different lipid bilayer platforms used for incorporation of integral membrane proteins and challenges associated with their functional reconstitution. We next discuss different methods for reconstitution of membrane fusion and compare their fusion efficiency. Lastly, we will highlight the importance and challenges of intercellular communication between synthetic cells and synthetic cells-to-natural cells. We will summarize the review by highlighting the challenges and opportunities associated with studying membrane-membrane interactions and possible future research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bineet Sharma
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; (B.S.); (H.M.)
| | - Hossein Moghimianavval
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; (B.S.); (H.M.)
| | - Sung-Won Hwang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;
| | - Allen P. Liu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; (B.S.); (H.M.)
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA
- Department of Biophysics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA
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11
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Boyd MA, Kamat NP. Designing Artificial Cells towards a New Generation of Biosensors. Trends Biotechnol 2020; 39:927-939. [PMID: 33388162 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The combination of biological and synthetic materials has great potential to generate new types of biosensors. Toward this goal, recent advances in artificial cell development have demonstrated the capacity to detect a variety of analytes and environmental changes by encapsulating genetically encoded sensors within bilayer membranes, expanding the contexts within which biologically based sensing can operate. This chassis not only acts as a container for cell-free sensors, but can also play an active role in artificial cell sensing by serving as an additional gate mediating the transfer of environmental information. Here, we focus on recent progress toward stimuli-responsive artificial cells and discuss strategies for membrane functionalization in order to expand cell-free biosensing capabilities and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margrethe A Boyd
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Neha P Kamat
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
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12
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Xiao F, Chen Z, Wei Z, Tian L. Hydrophobic Interaction: A Promising Driving Force for the Biomedical Applications of Nucleic Acids. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2020; 7:2001048. [PMID: 32832360 PMCID: PMC7435255 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202001048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The comprehensive understanding and proper use of supramolecular interactions have become critical for the development of functional materials, and so is the biomedical application of nucleic acids (NAs). Relatively rare attention has been paid to hydrophobic interaction compared with hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction of NAs. However, hydrophobic interaction shows some unique properties, such as high tunability for application interest, minimal effect on NA functionality, and sensitivity to external stimuli. Therefore, the widespread use of hydrophobic interaction has promoted the evolution of NA-based biomaterials in higher-order self-assembly, drug/gene-delivery systems, and stimuli-responsive systems. Herein, the recent progress of NA-based biomaterials whose fabrications or properties are highly determined by hydrophobic interactions is summarized. 1) The hydrophobic interaction of NA itself comes from the accumulation of base-stacking forces, by which the NAs with certain base compositions and chain lengths show properties similar to thermal-responsive polymers. 2) In conjugation with hydrophobic molecules, NA amphiphiles show interesting self-assembly structures with unique properties in many new biosensing and therapeutic strategies. 3) The working-mechanisms of some NA-based complex materials are also dependent on hydrophobic interactions. Moreover, in recent attempts, NA amphiphiles have been applied in organizing macroscopic self-assembly of DNA origami and controlling the cell-cell interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fan Xiao
- Department of Materials Science and EngineeringSouthern University of Science and Technology1088 Xueyuan Blvd.Nanshan DistrictShenzhenGuangdong518055P. R. China
- School of Materials Science and EngineeringHarbin Institute of TechnologyNangang DistrictHarbin150001P. R. China
| | - Zhe Chen
- Department of Materials Science and EngineeringSouthern University of Science and Technology1088 Xueyuan Blvd.Nanshan DistrictShenzhenGuangdong518055P. R. China
- Cancer Centre and Centre of ReproductionDevelopment and AgingFaculty of Health SciencesUniversity of MacauTaipaMacau999078P. R. China
| | - Zixiang Wei
- Department of Materials Science and EngineeringSouthern University of Science and Technology1088 Xueyuan Blvd.Nanshan DistrictShenzhenGuangdong518055P. R. China
- Cancer Centre and Centre of ReproductionDevelopment and AgingFaculty of Health SciencesUniversity of MacauTaipaMacau999078P. R. China
| | - Leilei Tian
- Department of Materials Science and EngineeringSouthern University of Science and Technology1088 Xueyuan Blvd.Nanshan DistrictShenzhenGuangdong518055P. R. China
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13
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Silverman AD, Karim AS, Jewett MC. Cell-free gene expression: an expanded repertoire of applications. Nat Rev Genet 2019; 21:151-170. [DOI: 10.1038/s41576-019-0186-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 246] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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