Orthogonal Blue and Red Light Controlled Cell-Cell Adhesions Enable Sorting-out in Multicellular Structures

Area of Science:

• Cellular biology
• Biomaterials engineering
• Tissue engineering

Background:

• Self-assembly of diverse cell types into organized multicellular structures is crucial for understanding tissue development and for bottom-up tissue engineering.
• Achieving precise spatial and temporal control over these self-assembly processes remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for independently controlling the self-assembly of two distinct cell types using light.
• To achieve selective self-sorting of these cell types into separate multicellular assemblies.
• To create a versatile platform for bottom-up tissue engineering and the investigation of cell-cell interactions.

Main Methods:

• Engineered two cell types to express photoswitchable proteins, acting as artificial adhesion molecules.
• Developed light-inducible and reversible homophilic cell-cell interactions, individually controllable by blue or red light.
• Utilized orthogonal photoactivation in mixed cell populations to induce independent self-assembly and self-sorting.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated independent control over the self-assembly of two cell types using distinct light colors (blue and red).
• Achieved successful self-sorting of the two cell types into separate multicellular assemblies based on engineered recognition.
• Established noninvasive, temporal control over cell-cell adhesions, reversible in the dark.

Conclusions:

• The developed system provides precise, light-based control over multicellular architecture formation.
• This technology enables the creation of complex, multi-cellular tissue-like structures from distinct cell populations.
• The findings offer a powerful tool for both bottom-up tissue engineering and fundamental research into cell organization principles.