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Rapid Synthesis and Screening of Chemically Activated Transcription Factors with GFP-based Reporters
Published on: November 26, 2013
Post-transcriptional modular synthetic receptors
Xiaowei Zhang1,2, Luis S Mille-Fragoso1,2,3, K Eerik Kaseniit1,3
1Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Nature Chemical Biology
|March 29, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed LIDAR (Ligand-Induced Dimerization-Activating RNA editing), a novel RNA editing platform for cell engineering. This synthetic receptor expands tools for sensing diverse signals and programming cellular functions.
Area of Science:
- Synthetic biology
- Molecular engineering
- Cellular engineering
Background:
- Transcriptional synthetic receptors are powerful tools for cell engineering.
- There is a need for complementary post-transcriptional systems to expand the synthetic biology toolbox.
- RNA editing offers a precise mechanism for post-transcriptional control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a modular post-transcriptional synthetic receptor platform based on RNA editing.
- To enable sensing of diverse ligands and production of functional outputs in various cellular contexts.
- To explore applications in programming complex multicellular behaviors and therapeutic interventions.
Main Methods:
- Development of LIDAR (Ligand-Induced Dimerization-Activating RNA editing) platform.
- Harnessing adenosine deaminases acting on RNA for targeted RNA editing.
- Integration with various receptor architectures and cellular contexts.
- Encoding and delivery via synthetic mRNA.
Main Results:
- LIDAR demonstrated modularity and compatibility across different cellular systems.
- The platform successfully sensed diverse ligands and produced functional outputs.
- Orthogonal signal sensing and synthetic spatial pattern generation were achieved.
- Compact encoding and synthetic mRNA delivery were validated.
Conclusions:
- LIDAR represents a novel class of synthetic receptors, expanding the cell engineering toolbox.
- The platform holds significant promise for advancing basic research and therapeutic applications.
- LIDAR enables sophisticated control over cellular functions and multicellular behaviors.
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