Synthetic receptors to understand and control cellular functions.

Cellular functions are controlled by sophisticated signal transduction pathways triggered by receptors responding to myriad environmental stimuli. With the rise of synthetic biology, we can now engineer artificial receptors enabling real-time interrogation and manipulation of cellular signaling, and providing new clues about the design principles of natural sensing systems. In this review, we describe the main classes of synthetic receptors engineered to date, their applications, and highlight recent developments that might improve synthetic receptor design in the future.