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

我们能否设计出半合成细胞，能够根据需要改变它们的全局机械性能，以响应外部刺激？我们能否将这些机械特性与与治疗和生物技术应用相关的下游原细胞“行为”联系起来？这个项目旨在用细胞仿生学的方法来解决这些问题。通过将生物和合成成分混合在一起，肌动蛋白皮质将在基于囊泡的合成细胞中制造出来，以响应红外范围内的光。皮层将被分解，以响应紫外线范围内的光。这允许细胞通过时空控制在机械上不同的状态(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的行为相结合，在这种情况下，细胞在流动下挤压通过狭窄的能力，将使用微流体设备进行研究。这个项目首先需要了解肌动蛋白皮质对细胞力学的影响，然后使用分子旋转器和闪烁分析来开发。这些洞察力将使我们能够可控地设计刺激反应系统。

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.