43,259 research outputs found
Synthetic Biology: A Bridge between Artificial and Natural Cells.
Artificial cells are simple cell-like entities that possess certain properties of natural cells. In general, artificial cells are constructed using three parts: (1) biological membranes that serve as protective barriers, while allowing communication between the cells and the environment; (2) transcription and translation machinery that synthesize proteins based on genetic sequences; and (3) genetic modules that control the dynamics of the whole cell. Artificial cells are minimal and well-defined systems that can be more easily engineered and controlled when compared to natural cells. Artificial cells can be used as biomimetic systems to study and understand natural dynamics of cells with minimal interference from cellular complexity. However, there remain significant gaps between artificial and natural cells. How much information can we encode into artificial cells? What is the minimal number of factors that are necessary to achieve robust functioning of artificial cells? Can artificial cells communicate with their environments efficiently? Can artificial cells replicate, divide or even evolve? Here, we review synthetic biological methods that could shrink the gaps between artificial and natural cells. The closure of these gaps will lead to advancement in synthetic biology, cellular biology and biomedical applications
Communication and quorum sensing in non-living mimics of eukaryotic cells.
Cells in tissues or biofilms communicate with one another through chemical and mechanical signals to coordinate collective behaviors. Non-living cell mimics provide simplified models of natural systems; however, it has remained challenging to implement communication capabilities comparable to living cells. Here we present a porous artificial cell-mimic containing a nucleus-like DNA-hydrogel compartment that is able to express and display proteins, and communicate with neighboring cell-mimics through diffusive protein signals. We show that communication between cell-mimics allows distribution of tasks, quorum sensing, and cellular differentiation according to local environment. Cell-mimics can be manufactured in large quantities, easily stored, chemically modified, and spatially organized into diffusively connected tissue-like arrangements, offering a means for studying communication in large ensembles of artificial cells
Chemical communication between synthetic and natural cells: a possible experimental design
The bottom-up construction of synthetic cells is one of the most intriguing
and interesting research arenas in synthetic biology. Synthetic cells are built
by encapsulating biomolecules inside lipid vesicles (liposomes), allowing the
synthesis of one or more functional proteins. Thanks to the in situ synthesized
proteins, synthetic cells become able to perform several biomolecular
functions, which can be exploited for a large variety of applications. This
paves the way to several advanced uses of synthetic cells in basic science and
biotechnology, thanks to their versatility, modularity, biocompatibility, and
programmability. In the previous WIVACE (2012) we presented the
state-of-the-art of semi-synthetic minimal cell (SSMC) technology and
introduced, for the first time, the idea of chemical communication between
synthetic cells and natural cells. The development of a proper synthetic
communication protocol should be seen as a tool for the nascent field of
bio/chemical-based Information and Communication Technologies (bio-chem-ICTs)
and ultimately aimed at building soft-wet-micro-robots. In this contribution
(WIVACE, 2013) we present a blueprint for realizing this project, and show some
preliminary experimental results. We firstly discuss how our research goal
(based on the natural capabilities of biological systems to manipulate chemical
signals) finds a proper place in the current scientific and technological
contexts. Then, we shortly comment on the experimental approaches from the
viewpoints of (i) synthetic cell construction, and (ii) bioengineering of
microorganisms, providing up-to-date results from our laboratory. Finally, we
shortly discuss how autopoiesis can be used as a theoretical framework for
defining synthetic minimal life, minimal cognition, and as bridge between
synthetic biology and artificial intelligence.Comment: In Proceedings Wivace 2013, arXiv:1309.712
Construction of membrane-bound artificial cells using microfluidics: a new frontier in bottom-up synthetic biology
The quest to construct artificial cells from the bottom-up using simple building blocks has received much attention over recent decades and is one of the grand challenges in synthetic biology. Cell mimics that are encapsulated by lipid membranes are a particularly powerful class of artificial cells due to their biocompatibility and the ability to reconstitute biological machinery within them. One of the key obstacles in the field centres on the following: how can membrane-based artificial cells be generated in a controlled way and in high-throughput? In particular, how can they be constructed to have precisely defined parameters including size, biomolecular composition and spatial organization? Microfluidic generation strategies have proved instrumental in addressing these questions. This article will outline some of the major principles underpinning membrane-based artificial cells and their construction using microfluidics, and will detail some recent landmarks that have been achieved
Programmable interactions with biomimetic DNA linkers at fluid membranes and interfaces
At the heart of the structured architecture and complex dynamics of
biological systems are specific and timely interactions operated by
biomolecules. In many instances, biomolecular agents are spatially confined to
flexible lipid membranes where, among other functions, they control cell
adhesion, motility and tissue formation. Besides being central to several
biological processes, \emph{multivalent interactions} mediated by reactive
linkers confined to deformable substrates underpin the design of
synthetic-biological platforms and advanced biomimetic materials. Here we
review recent advances on the experimental study and theoretical modelling of a
heterogeneous class of biomimetic systems in which synthetic linkers mediate
multivalent interactions between fluid and deformable colloidal units,
including lipid vesicles and emulsion droplets. Linkers are often prepared from
synthetic DNA nanostructures, enabling full programmability of the
thermodynamic and kinetic properties of their mutual interactions. The coupling
of the statistical effects of multivalent interactions with substrate fluidity
and deformability gives rise to a rich emerging phenomenology that, in the
context of self-assembled soft materials, has been shown to produce exotic
phase behaviour, stimuli-responsiveness, and kinetic programmability of the
self-assembly process. Applications to (synthetic) biology will also be
reviewed.Comment: 63 pages, revie
Simple Model of the Transduction of Cell-Penetrating Peptides
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) such as HIV's trans-activating
transcriptional activator (TAT) and polyarginine rapidly pass through the
plasma membranes of mammalian cells by an unknown mechanism called
transduction. They may be medically useful when fused to well-chosen chains of
fewer than about 35 amino acids. I offer a simple model of transduction in
which phosphatidylserines and CPPs effectively form two plates of a capacitor
with a voltage sufficient to cause the formation of transient pores
(electroporation). The model is consistent with experimental data on the
transduction of oligoarginine into mouse C2-C12 myoblasts and makes three
testable predictions.Comment: Seven pages. For a more complete version including the effects of
counterions, see arXiv:0810.2358v3 [q-bio.BM
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