Wang Lei, Song Shidong, van Hest Jan, Abdelmohsen Loai K E A, Huang Xin, Sánchez Samuel
MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Harbin, 150001, China.
Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Baldiri i Reixac 10-12, Barcelona, 08028, Spain.
Small. 2020 Jul;16(27):e1907680. doi: 10.1002/smll.201907680. Epub 2020 Apr 6.
Cells, sophisticated membrane-bound units that contain the fundamental molecules of life, provide a precious library for inspiration and motivation for both society and academia. Scientists from various disciplines have made great endeavors toward the understanding of the cellular evolution by engineering artificial counterparts (protocells) that mimic or initiate structural or functional cellular aspects. In this regard, several works have discussed possible building blocks, designs, functions, or dynamics that can be applied to achieve this goal. Although great progress has been made, fundamental-yet complex-behaviors such as cellular communication, responsiveness to environmental cues, and motility remain a challenge, yet to be resolved. Herein, recent efforts toward utilizing soft systems for cellular mimicry are summarized-following the main outline of cellular evolution, from basic compartmentalization, and biological reactions for energy production, to motility and communicative behaviors between artificial cell communities or between artificial and natural cell communities. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives in the field are discussed, hoping to inspire more future research and to help the further advancement of this field.
细胞是复杂的、有膜包裹的单元，包含生命的基本分子，为社会和学术界提供了一个宝贵的灵感和动力库。来自不同学科的科学家们通过构建模仿或启动细胞结构或功能方面的人工对应物（原细胞），在理解细胞进化方面做出了巨大努力。在这方面，有几项工作讨论了可用于实现这一目标的可能构建模块、设计、功能或动力学。尽管已经取得了很大进展，但诸如细胞通讯、对环境线索的反应能力和运动性等基本但复杂的行为仍然是一个挑战，有待解决。在此，本文按照细胞进化的主要脉络，从基本的区室化、能量产生的生物反应，到人工细胞群落之间或人工与天然细胞群落之间的运动性和通讯行为，总结了利用软系统进行细胞模拟的近期努力。最后，讨论了该领域当前的挑战和未来前景，希望能激发更多未来研究，并有助于该领域的进一步发展。
