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Stevens, A.J., Harris, A.R., Gerdts, J. et al. Programming multicellular assembly with synthetic cell adhesion molecules. Nature 614, 144–152 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05622-z
Cell adhesion is the mechanism by which cells attach themselves to other cells and the surroundings of the cell with the help of cell membrane proteins. It is due to this process of adhesion that cells can come together to build up complex, multicellular structures. The cell membrane proteins responsible for cell adhesion are called cell adhesion molecules (CAMs). These molecules are found throughout multicellular organisms and are responsible for holding cells in intricate, organised patterns along with facilitating communication between cells. They play a part in processes such as tissue development, the movement of immune cells, and the wiring of the nervous system.
By adulthood, the complex tissues, organs, and structures that your body needs have fully developed and the molecules that guide these generative processes slowly disappear. Therefore your body can no longer naturally recreate structures, such as nerves if they are damaged by injury or disease. This creates a need to be able to control cell adhesion and synthetically regenerate damaged structures in the body.
Researchers at UC San Francisco did exactly this. They engineered CAMs that they could control in a precise way in order to direct how cells bind together. These synthetic CAMs (or synCAMs) were customised in a way that researchers could predict the ways in which they would bind to partner cells. In this way, they were able to control which cells they interact with, the nature of this interaction, and the subsequent complex structure formed.
There are two parts to a synCAM. The first is a receptor existing on the outside of the cell. This extracellular element specifies which other cell it will interact with. The second component is inside the cell and determines the strength of the bond formed between cells. In some structures, bonding needs to be tight such as in an organ like the lung or heart. In others, weaker bonding is necessary such as in porous blood vessels to allow the exchange of substances. These two parts are individual units that can be put together in different combinations to produce an array of synCAMs that can cause cells to bind in a variety of desired ways. The resulting molecule that is produced gives cell-cell interactions that can be controlled by researchers and display adhesion properties that mimic the natural process of cell adhesion.
This new skill of being able to use synCAMs can help us program the assembly of complex structures and remodel existing tissues. For example, the regeneration of tissues in medicine or designing tissues to model disease states in order to study human tissue in more detail and with greater ease. It also gives us a deeper understanding of the evolutionary development of organisms from unicellular to multicellular since CAMs play such an integral role in building up the complex structures of a multicellular organism. SynCAMs are, however, still being studied and more research is needed for them to make a major impact on fields such as medicine.
This research provides us with a new ability to control tissue formation and systematically study the organisation of a multicellular organism. It is a step towards being able to build tissues and organs even when the body is not naturally able to do so.
Summarised by Nyrika Nooreyezdan
Works cited
Collins. “Collins English Dictionary | Definitions, Translations and Pronunciations.” Collinsdictionary.com, 4 Feb. 2019, www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english. Accessed 3 Apr. 2023.
Easthope, Emma. “Introduction to Cell Adhesion Molecules.” Biocompare, 24 Oct. 2022, www.biocompare.com/Bench-Tips/591181-Introduction-to-Cell-Adhesion-Molecules/. Accessed 3 Apr. 2023.
ScienceDaily. “Cellular ‘Glue’ to Regenerate Tissues, Heal Wounds, Regrow Nerves.” ScienceDaily, 12 Dec. 2022, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/12/221212140159.htm. Accessed 3 Apr. 2023.
Vix. “Cell Adhesion.” Biology Articles, Tutorials & Dictionary Online, 7 Oct. 2019, www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/cell-adhesion. Accessed 4 Apr. 2023.
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