On-site assembly of the actin cortex in semi-synthetic cells to control cell mechanics and behaviour

半合成细胞中肌动蛋白皮层的现场组装以控制细胞力学和行为

• 批准号: 2281771
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Imperial College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2281771
• 关键词: site; assembly; actin; cortex; semi

Can we engineer semi-synthetic cells that can alter their global mechanical properties on-demand, in response to external stimuli? Can we link these mechanical properties to downstream protocellular 'behaviours' that are relevant to therapeutic and biotechnological applications? This project aims to address these questions using a cellular bionics approach. By intermingling both biological and synthetic components, an actin cortex will be manufactured within vesicle-based synthetic cells in response to light in the IR range. The cortex will be disassembled in response to light in the UV range. This allows the cell to dynamically switch between mechanically distinct states (i.e. different rigidities and viscosities), with spatiotemporal control. Coupling cell biomechanics to different behaviours, in this case the cell's ability to squeeze through constrictions under flow, will be investigated using a microfluidic device. This project will first require an understanding of the effect of the actin cortex on cell mechanics to be developed using molecular rotors and flickering analysis. These insights will then allow us to controllably engineer the stimuli-responsive systems.

我们能否设计出半合成细胞，使其能够根据外界刺激的需要改变其整体机械性能？我们能否将这些机械性能与下游的原细胞“行为”联系起来，这些行为与治疗和生物技术应用有关？该项目旨在使用细胞仿生学方法解决这些问题。通过混合生物和合成成分，肌动蛋白皮质将在基于囊泡的合成细胞内制造，以响应IR范围内的光。皮质将在UV范围内的光下分解。这允许细胞在具有时空控制的机械上不同的状态（即不同的刚性和粘度）之间动态切换。将细胞生物力学与不同行为耦合，在这种情况下，将使用微流体装置研究细胞在流动下挤压通过收缩部的能力。这个项目首先需要了解肌动蛋白皮质对细胞力学的影响，使用分子转子和闪烁分析来开发。这些见解将使我们能够可控地设计刺激响应系统。