EAPSI:Engineering Artificial Cells that Sense a Chemical Target and Migrate in its direction

细胞迁移是生物学中一个非常普遍的过程：它不仅控制着许多细胞事件，如炎症反应、组织再生和神经系统的连接，它也是癌症、感染和过敏等疾病发病机制的核心。因此，阐明细胞运动的机制是理解细胞内信号网络和设计治疗方法的关键。许多涉及细胞迁移的研究都是在活细胞中进行的，这是一个复杂的模型系统，因为它包含了大量的分子。这个项目的目标是研究细胞迁移在一个简化的，最小的系统。类似于组装无线电部件以了解其功能机制的过程，该项目旨在在人造细胞样结构中重新组装细胞运动的分子参与者，以了解这些分子如何相互作用。竹内正二博士？他在东京大学的实验室拥有微制造专业知识，可以使用微流体平台快速生产类似细胞的微室。因此，生物分子可以很容易地在这些工程细胞中进行包装和研究。到目前为止，运动的分子参与者已被确定，但尚不清楚这些分子如何相互作用并与细胞膜协调定向细胞迁移。为了避免在高度交织的细胞环境中研究细胞迁移所涉及的复杂性，该项目旨在设计一种人造细胞，这种细胞一次构建一种分子类型，成分数量最少，并且可以向期望的目标迁移。该合成系统由受控的脂膜和蛋白质变量组成，因此长期存在的细胞迁移问题可以得到严格解决。这种工程细胞还可以作为在生物环境中传递药物和生物分子的仿生装置。NSF EAPSI奖是与日本科学促进会（JSPS）合作资助的。

A highly ubiquitous process in biology is cell migration: not only does it govern many cellular events such as inflammatory response, tissue regeneration, and wiring of nervous system, it is also central to pathogenesis of diseases such as cancer, infection, and allergies. Thus, elucidating the mechanism of cellular movement is key to understanding signaling networks within cells and devising therapeutics. Many of the studies involving cell migration are performed in a living cell, a model system that is complex due to the large pool of molecules it encapsulates. The goal of this project is to study cell migration in a reduced, minimal system. Akin to the process of assembling radio parts to understand its functional mechanism, the project aims to reassemble the molecular players of cell movement in an artificial cell-like structure to understand how these molecules interact with each other. Dr. Shoji Takeuchi?s lab at University of Tokyo has the microfabrication expertise that allows for fast production of cell-like micro compartments using a microfluidics platform. Thus the biomolecules can be readily packaged and studied in these engineered cells.Thus far, the molecular players of motility are identified, however it is not yet known how these molecules interact with each other and the cell membrane to orchestrate directed cell migration. To avoid the complexities involved with studying cell migration in a highly intertwined cellular milieu, this project aims to engineer an artificial cell that is built one molecule type at a time, is minimal in the number of components, and can migrate towards a desired target. This synthetic system is composed of controlled lipid membrane and protein variables, and thus the long-standing question of cell migration could be rigorously addressed. The engineered cell also could serve as a biomimetic device for delivering drugs and biomolecules in a biological environment. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).