Scientists have engineered a synthetic cell capable of symmetry breaking, responding to chemical signals similar to immune cells. This advancement at Johns Hopkins could lead to targeted drug delivery systems, utilizing the cell’s ability to move towards and release drugs at specific sites.
Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine have developed a minimal synthetic cell capable of following external chemical signals and exhibiting a fundamental biological concept known as “symmetry breaking.” This incredible innovation aims to enhance our understanding of cellular movement and devise new methods for transporting drugs within the body.
The research is detailed today (June 12) in the journal Science Advances.
A step that precedes the movement of a cell, symmetry breaking, happens when a cell’s molecules, which are initially arranged symmetrically, reorganize into an asymmetric pattern or shape, usually in response to stimuli. This is similar to how migrating birds break symmetry when they shift into a new formation in response to an environmental compass like sunlight or landmarks. On a microscopic level, immune cells sense chemical signals concentrated at an infection site and break symmetry to traverse a blood vessel wall to reach the infected tissue. As cells break symmetry, they transform into polarized and asymmetric structures that prepare them to move toward their target.
“The notion of symmetry breaking is crucial to life, impacting fields as diverse as biology, physics, and cosmology,” says Shiva Razavi, Ph.D., who led the research as a graduate student at Johns Hopkins and is now a postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Understanding how symmetry breaking works is key to unlocking the fundamentals of biology and discovering how to harness this information to devise therapeutics.”
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