Cytoskeleton-functionalized synthetic cells with life-like mechanical features and regulated membrane dynamicity

Sebastian Novosedlik; Felix Reichel; Thijs van Veldhuisen; Yudong Li; Hanglong Wu; Henk Janssen; Jochen Guck; Jan van Hest

doi:10.1038/s41557-024-01697-5

Cytoskeleton-functionalized synthetic cells with life-like mechanical features and regulated membrane dynamicity

Sebastian Novosedlik
, Felix Reichel
, Thijs van Veldhuisen
, Yudong Li
, Hanglong Wu
, Henk Janssen (Corresponding author)
, Jochen Guck
, Jan van Hest (Corresponding author)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

43 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The cytoskeleton is a crucial determinant of mammalian cell structure and function, providing mechanical resilience, supporting the cell membrane and orchestrating essential processes such as cell division and motility. Because of its fundamental role in living cells, developing a reconstituted or artificial cytoskeleton is of major interest. Here we present an approach to construct an artificial cytoskeleton that imparts mechanical support and regulates membrane dynamics. Our system involves amylose-based coacervates stabilized by a terpolymer membrane, with a cytoskeleton formed from polydiacetylene fibrils. The fibrils bundle due to interactions with the positively charged amylose derivative, forming micrometre-sized structures mimicking a cytoskeleton. Given the intricate interplay between cellular structure and function, the design and integration of this artificial cytoskeleton represent a crucial advancement, paving the way for the development of artificial cell platforms exhibiting enhanced life-like behaviour. (Figure presented.)

Original language	English
Article number	e202110855
Pages (from-to)	356-364
Number of pages	9
Journal	Nature Chemistry
Volume	17
Issue number	3
Early online date	3 Jan 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-024-01697-5
Publication status	Published - Mar 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.

Funding

J.v.H. acknowledges support from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Gravitation Program 024.001.035, a Spinoza Grant of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research SPI 72-259) and the ERC Advanced Grant (Artisym 694120). Furthermore, J.v.H. and S.N. acknowledge support from the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (ITN) BIOMOLMACS, grant number 859416. We acknowledge the financial support through the base funding of the Max Planck Society to J.G. We thank the ICMS Animation studio for their help with the illustrations used here. We thank P. Schwille and Y. Qutbuddin for their help in acquiring a confocal micrograph of the PDA fibrils in a liposome.

Funders	Funder number
European Union's Horizon 2020 - Research and Innovation Framework Programme	694120
European Union's Horizon 2020 - Research and Innovation Framework Programme	859416

Keywords

Artificial Cells/chemistry
Cytoskeleton/metabolism
Cell Membrane/metabolism
Polymers/chemistry
Polyacetylene Polymer/chemistry
Polyynes/chemistry

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title = "Cytoskeleton-functionalized synthetic cells with life-like mechanical features and regulated membrane dynamicity",

abstract = "The cytoskeleton is a crucial determinant of mammalian cell structure and function, providing mechanical resilience, supporting the cell membrane and orchestrating essential processes such as cell division and motility. Because of its fundamental role in living cells, developing a reconstituted or artificial cytoskeleton is of major interest. Here we present an approach to construct an artificial cytoskeleton that imparts mechanical support and regulates membrane dynamics. Our system involves amylose-based coacervates stabilized by a terpolymer membrane, with a cytoskeleton formed from polydiacetylene fibrils. The fibrils bundle due to interactions with the positively charged amylose derivative, forming micrometre-sized structures mimicking a cytoskeleton. Given the intricate interplay between cellular structure and function, the design and integration of this artificial cytoskeleton represent a crucial advancement, paving the way for the development of artificial cell platforms exhibiting enhanced life-like behaviour. (Figure presented.)",

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AU - Novosedlik, Sebastian

AU - Reichel, Felix

AU - van Veldhuisen, Thijs

AU - Li, Yudong

AU - Wu, Hanglong

AU - Janssen, Henk

AU - Guck, Jochen

AU - van Hest, Jan

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025.

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AB - The cytoskeleton is a crucial determinant of mammalian cell structure and function, providing mechanical resilience, supporting the cell membrane and orchestrating essential processes such as cell division and motility. Because of its fundamental role in living cells, developing a reconstituted or artificial cytoskeleton is of major interest. Here we present an approach to construct an artificial cytoskeleton that imparts mechanical support and regulates membrane dynamics. Our system involves amylose-based coacervates stabilized by a terpolymer membrane, with a cytoskeleton formed from polydiacetylene fibrils. The fibrils bundle due to interactions with the positively charged amylose derivative, forming micrometre-sized structures mimicking a cytoskeleton. Given the intricate interplay between cellular structure and function, the design and integration of this artificial cytoskeleton represent a crucial advancement, paving the way for the development of artificial cell platforms exhibiting enhanced life-like behaviour. (Figure presented.)

KW - Artificial Cells/chemistry

KW - Cytoskeleton/metabolism

KW - Cell Membrane/metabolism

KW - Polymers/chemistry

KW - Polyacetylene Polymer/chemistry

KW - Polyynes/chemistry

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Cytoskeleton-functionalized synthetic cells with life-like mechanical features and regulated membrane dynamicity

Abstract

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Keywords

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