Cell aggregation is a complex behavior, which is closely related to the viability, differentiation, and migration of cells. An effort to create synthetic analogs could lead to considerable advances in cell physiology and biophysics. Rendering and modulating such a dynamic artificial cell system require mechanisms for receiving, transducing, and transmitting intercellular signals, yet effective tools are limited at present. Here we construct synthetic cells from engineered lipids and show their programmable aggregation behaviors using DNA oligonucleotides as a signaling molecule. The artificial cells have transmembrane channels made of DNA origami that are used to recognize and process intercellular signals. We demonstrate that multiple small vesicles aggregate onto a giant vesicle after a transduction of external DNA signals by an intracellular enzyme, and that the small vesicles dissociate when receiving release signals. This work provides new possibilities for building synthetic protocells capable of chemical communication and coordination.

中文翻译：

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具有DNA信号的人工细胞的可编程聚集

细胞聚集是一种复杂的行为，与细胞的活力，分化和迁移密切相关。努力创造合成类似物可能会导致细胞生理学和生物物理学方面的巨大进步。渲染和调制这种动态人工细胞系统需要用于接收，转导和传输细胞间信号的机制，但是目前有限的有效工具。在这里，我们从工程脂质构建合成细胞，并使用DNA寡核苷酸作为信号分子显示其可编程的聚集行为。人造细胞具有由DNA折纸制成的跨膜通道，用于识别和处理细胞间信号。我们证明了多个小囊泡在细胞内酶对外部DNA信号进行转导后聚集到一个巨大的囊泡上，并且当接收到释放信号时这些小囊泡会解离。这项工作为建立能够进行化学交流和协调的合成原始细胞提供了新的可能性。