Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
ACS Synth Biol. 2021 Apr 16;10(4):749-755. doi: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00541. Epub 2021 Mar 30.
Herein, we constructed a new type of hydrogel based artificial cells supporting long-lived protein synthesis, post-translational modification, and gene networks. We constructed the artificial cells by immobilizing the transcription and translation system from cytoplasmic extract onto the polyacrylamide hydrogel. With the continuous supply of energy and nutrition, the artificial cells were capable of stable protein expression for at least 30 days. Functional proteins which were difficult to produce in vivo, including colicin E1 and urokinase, were synthesized in the artificial cells with high bioactivity. Furthermore, we constructed a sigma factor based genetic oscillator in the artificial cells. The artificial cells not only provide a powerful platform for continuous protein synthesis and convenient design and testing of genetic networks, but also hold great promise for the development of metabolic engineering, drug delivery, and biosensors.
在这里，我们构建了一种新型的水凝胶基人工细胞，支持长寿命蛋白质合成、翻译后修饰和基因网络。我们通过将细胞质提取物中的转录和翻译系统固定在聚丙烯酰胺水凝胶上来构建人工细胞。在持续供应能量和营养的情况下，人工细胞能够稳定表达蛋白质至少 30 天。在人工细胞中合成了难以在体内产生的功能性蛋白质，包括 colicin E1 和尿激酶，并且具有很高的生物活性。此外，我们在人工细胞中构建了基于 sigma 因子的遗传振荡器。人工细胞不仅为连续蛋白质合成提供了强大的平台，而且为遗传网络的设计和测试提供了便利，也为代谢工程、药物输送和生物传感器的发展带来了巨大的希望。
