In a brand new study published in Nature Chemistry, UNC-Chapel Hill researcher Ronit Freeman and her colleagues describe the steps they took to govern DNA and proteins — essential constructing blocks of life — to create cells that look and act like cells from the body. This accomplishment, a primary in the sector, has implications for efforts in regenerative medicine, drug delivery systems, and diagnostic tools.
“With this discovery, we will consider engineering fabrics or tissues that might be sensitive to changes of their environment and behave in dynamic ways,” says Freeman, whose lab is within the Applied Physical Sciences Department of the UNC College of Arts and Sciences.
Cells and tissues are fabricated from proteins that come together to perform tasks and make structures. Proteins are essential for forming the framework of a cell, called the cytoskeleton. Without it, cells would not find a way to operate. The cytoskeleton allows cells to be flexible, each in shape and in response to their environment.
Without using natural proteins, the Freeman Lab built cells with functional cytoskeletons that may change shape and react to their surroundings. To do that, they used a brand new programmable peptide-DNA technology that directs peptides, the constructing blocks of proteins, and repurposed genetic material to work together to form a cytoskeleton.
“DNA doesn’t normally appear in a cytoskeleton,” Freeman says. “We reprogrammed sequences of DNA in order that it acts as an architectural material, binding the peptides together. Once this programmed material was placed in a droplet of water, the structures took shape.”
The flexibility to program DNA in this manner means scientists can create cells to serve specific functions and even fine-tune a cell’s response to external stressors. While living cells are more complex than the synthetic ones created by the Freeman Lab, also they are more unpredictable and more prone to hostile environments, like severe temperatures.
“The synthetic cells were stable even at 122 degrees Fahrenheit, opening up the opportunity of manufacturing cells with extraordinary capabilities in environments normally unsuitable to human life,” Freeman says.
As a substitute of making materials which might be made to last, Freeman says their materials are made to task — perform a particular function after which modify themselves to serve a brand new function. Their application might be customized by adding different peptide or DNA designs to program cells in materials like fabrics or tissues. These latest materials can integrate with other synthetic cell technologies, all with potential applications that might revolutionize fields like biotechnology and medicine.
“This research helps us understand what makes life,” Freeman says. “This synthetic cell technology is not going to just enable us to breed what nature does, but additionally make materials that surpass biology.”
