14-ERASynBio: Synthetic Glycobiology - new strategies to build and functionalise proto-cells and proto-tissues

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Great advances have been made in the development of proto-cells based on giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). However, one essential functional element of all living cells still to be incorporated into such systems is a glycocalyx. This coating of complex carbohydrates extends up to 100 nm from the cell membrane and provides an adhesive layer that mediates interactions between different cell types, viruses and signalling molecules. In most cases, these interactions involve specific carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins) which may be either soluble or membrane-bound. For example, fertilisation is initiated by a specific carbohydrate on the surface of the egg adhering to a specific lectin on the head of the sperm. Protein-carbohydrate interactions also mediate the endocytosis of many bacteria, viruses and bacterial toxins which stick to specific glycolipids on the cell membrane. Protein-carbohydrate interactions thus present a general strategy for enabling cell adhesion and cell entry. In this project we will design and create a modular toolbox of synthetic glcocalyx components and engineered lectins that will be attached to lipid membranes to enable reversible proto-cell adhesion and incorporated into virus-like particles to mediate proto-cell entry. The methodology will be exemplified through the construction of proto-cells that contain "proto-organelles" and the assembly and remodelling of "proto-tissues" in which multiple types of proto-cells are brought together in a pre-defined fashion to create more complex systems.