Logic-Gated DNA Cascade Amplification Enables High-Fidelity Intercellular Communication in Synthetic Protocells

Intercellular communication in synthetic protocells is often constrained by passive diffusion, leading to signal attenuation and spurious activation that limit functional outcomes. Here, we report a programmable communication framework that integrates logic-gated DNA signal processing with cascade amplification to enable high-fidelity chemical messaging between synthetic sender and receiver protocells. Sender protocells are equipped with membrane-anchored DNA logic circuits that release a messenger strand only upon dual-input recognition, while receiver protocells decode the transmitted signal through a surface-confined hybridization chain reaction that amplifies the response and suppresses false-positive activation. Beyond information transfer, the amplified signal is converted into functional execution by recruiting a photosensitizer to the receiver membrane, enabling light-triggered modulation of membrane integrity and controlled molecular transport. Together, this logic-controlled and cascade-amplified communication system establishes a signal-to-function transduction pathway in synthetic protocell communities, providing a versatile strategy for constructing synthetic multicellular networks with enhanced communication fidelity, long-range signaling capability, and programmable downstream responses.