期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2015
卷号：112
期号：27
页码：8187-8192
DOI：10.1073/pnas.1506704112
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：SignificanceWe report on the design and synthesis of an artificial cell membrane that sustains continual growth. Lipid membranes are ubiquitous in all domains of life. Numerous studies have exploited the ability of lipids to self-assemble into bilayer vesicles with properties reminiscent of cellular membranes, but previous work has yet to mimic nature's ability to support persistent phospholipid membrane formation. In this work, we have developed an artificial cell membrane that continually synthesizes all of the components needed to form additional catalytic membranes. These results demonstrate that complex lipid membranes capable of indefinite self-synthesis can emerge when supplied with simpler chemical building blocks. Cell membranes are dynamic structures found in all living organisms. There have been numerous constructs that model phospholipid membranes. However, unlike natural membranes, these biomimetic systems cannot sustain growth owing to an inability to replenish phospholipid-synthesizing catalysts. Here we report on the design and synthesis of artificial membranes embedded with synthetic, self-reproducing catalysts capable of perpetuating phospholipid bilayer formation. Replacing the complex biochemical pathways used in nature with an autocatalyst that also drives lipid synthesis leads to the continual formation of triazole phospholipids and membrane-bound oligotriazole catalysts from simpler starting materials. In addition to continual phospholipid synthesis and vesicle growth, the synthetic membranes are capable of remodeling their physical composition in response to changes in the environment by preferentially incorporating specific precursors. These results demonstrate that complex membranes capable of indefinite self-synthesis can emerge when supplied with simpler chemical building blocks.
