Cell Implant
A group of researchers from the University of Basel (University of Basel, Switzerland) Under the guidance of Professor Cornelia Palivan, for the first time she integrated artificial organoids into the cells of living embryos of danio rerio fish.
For example, implants can be filled with an inactive drug and an enzyme. Under certain environmental conditions, these two components will interact, and the drug will begin to be released "on demand". Such targeted therapy will reduce the dosage and, as a result, reduce the severity of undesirable side effects.
Artificial organoids inside macrophages of danio embryos. Fluorescence occurs during the reaction between hydrogen peroxide, which penetrates into the implant, and the peroxidase contained inside it. Thus, the researchers proved the successful functioning of artificial organoids after implantation into a living cell. Source: University of Basel.
Artificial organoids are microcapsules that organize themselves in a polymer solution, and can contain any molecules, including enzymes. The organoids presented in the article contained peroxidase, which was activated when certain molecules penetrated inside.
To regulate the penetration of various molecules into the artificial organoid, the developers included chemically modified natural proteins in the cell wall, which functioned as an entrance gate and "opened" at a certain concentration of the antioxidant glutathione in the cell.
When the level of glutathione is low, the entrance into the implant is "closed". When the concentration of glutathione reached a certain value, access was opened, substances from the outside could freely pass inside the artificial organoid. Next, a reaction with peroxidase was triggered, and the interaction product was released into the cell. A drawing from an article in Nature Communications.
To study cell implants in a living organism, they were previously labeled with fluorescin and integrated into the embryos of danio rerio fish – their transparent bodies are ideal for tracking the state of cells under a microscope.
After the introduction of artificial organoids, they were "swallowed" by macrophages. So, they naturally got inside the cells. The researchers demonstrated the activation of the enzyme peroxidase contained inside the organoids in response to the penetration of hydrogen peroxide produced by macrophages through the protein gate.
The researchers were able to make a real breakthrough: artificial organoids studied earlier in the laboratory were implanted inside a living cell for the first time. They have shown in vivo that the shell is able to selectively pass certain molecules inside the implant. The potential of this work is difficult to overestimate: it will give impetus to the development of new methods of protein therapy for a variety of diseases.
Article by T. Einfalt et al. Biomimetic artificial organelles with in vitro and in vivo activity triggered by reduction in microenvironment is published in the journal Nature Communications.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of Basel: Tiny implants for cells are functional in vivo.