Light-Activated Signaling in DNA-Encoded Sender-Receiver Architectures.
Shuo YangPascal A PietersAlex JoesaarBas W A BögelsRens BrouwersIuliia MyrgorodskaStephen MannTom F A de GreefPublished in: ACS nano (2020)
Collective decision making by living cells is facilitated by exchange of diffusible signals where sender cells release a chemical signal that is interpreted by receiver cells. A variety of nonliving artificial cell models have been developed in recent years that mimic various aspects of diffusion-based intercellular communication. However, localized secretion of diffusive signals from individual protocells, which is critical for mimicking biological sender-receiver systems, has remained challenging to control precisely. Here, we engineer light-responsive, DNA-encoded sender-receiver architectures, where protein-polymer microcapsules act as cell mimics and molecular communication occurs through diffusive DNA signals. We prepare spatial distributions of sender and receiver protocells using a microfluidic trapping array and set up a signaling gradient from a single sender cell using light, which activates surrounding receivers through DNA strand displacement. Our systematic analysis reveals how the effective signal range of a single sender is determined by various factors including the density and permeability of receivers, extracellular signal degradation, signal consumption, and catalytic regeneration. In addition, we construct a three-population configuration where two sender cells are embedded in a dense array of receivers that implement Boolean logic and investigate spatial integration of nonidentical input cues. The results offer a means for studying diffusion-based sender-receiver topologies and present a strategy to achieve the congruence of reaction-diffusion and positional information in chemical communication systems that have the potential to reconstitute collective cellular patterns.
Keyphrases
- induced apoptosis
- single molecule
- single cell
- circulating tumor
- living cells
- cell cycle arrest
- cell free
- high throughput
- cell therapy
- decision making
- high resolution
- stem cells
- circulating tumor cells
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- signaling pathway
- oxidative stress
- endothelial cells
- healthcare
- cell death
- mesenchymal stem cells
- cell proliferation
- bone marrow
- risk assessment
- binding protein