Intracellular actuator that generates and manipulates physical force in living cells

Case ID:

C14896

Disclosure Date:

8/11/2017

Marketing Summary Draft

Intracellular actuator that generates and manipulates physical force in living cells

JHU Ref #: C14896

Value Proposition

Physical force generation inside living cells via light irradiation and chemical treatment
This research tool can be applied to arbitrary intracellular targets in a specific and spatiotemporal manner
System is built on peptide derived from protein ActA, which, through DNA sequence modification, increased expression in mammalian cells allowing bioengineering applications

Unmet Need

Physical probes to produce mechanical force within cells include atomic force microscopy, magnetic tweezers, pipette aspiration, and dielectrophoretic tweezers to name a few. The tractability of these techniques has provided meaningful insight into mechano-sensing mechanisms, that were otherwise elusive due to the many intricacies of fundamental cell functions such as division, migration, and differentiation. However, these techniques lack specificity in targeting specific organelles as well as introducing them in living cells. In contrast, biological probes encompassing motile microorganisms and engineered proteins can be readily introduced into living cells. One major example is the use of the pathogenic bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, which exploits the host cell’s actin to maneuver across the cytosol allowing the ability to infect neighboring cells to further spread across the host tissue. Some have taken advantage of Listeria monocytogenes ability to utilize host cell’s actin but have not been able to harness simultaneous spatiotemporal control and high force generation to induce efficient maneuverability.

Technology Description

Johns Hopkins researchers report the generation of a molecular tool deemed the ActuAtor which, through actin polymerization can be triggered towards intended subcellular locations to generate constrictive force in a spatiotemporally controlled manner. The ActuAtor tool has shown deformation of organelles such as mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, nucleus, and membrane-bound RNA granules.

Stage of Development