"
Team:UCSF/Project
From 2009.igem.org
(→Motivation: Why is this useful?) |
(→Background) |
||
| Line 43: | Line 43: | ||
=== Background === | === Background === | ||
| + | For these experiments we chose Dictyostelium cells to test our prototypical brakes and accelerators quickly. We expect that our brakes and accelerators can be used in a plug and play fashion because Dictyostelium’s way of movement is very similar to a neutrophil’s: | ||
| + | |||
| + | When a receptor binds chemoattractant, it induces the conversion of PIP2 to PIP3 (two signaling lipids in the plasma membrane) at the front of our cells. In a positive feedback loop PIP3 triggers the formation of more PIP3 at the front while similarly PIP2 leads to more PIP2 production at the sides and rear of the cell. This system sets the axis of polarity of the cell. The PIP3 patch at the front functions as a ‘turbo boost’ pushing the cell forward. | ||
=== Approach === | === Approach === | ||
Revision as of 23:49, 16 October 2009
| You can write a background of your team here. Give us a background of your team, the members, etc. Or tell us more about something of your choosing. |  |
|
Tell us more about your project. Give us background. Use this is the abstract of your project. Be descriptive but concise (1-2 paragraphs) |  |
| Team Example 2 |
| Home | The Team | The Project | Parts Submitted to the Registry | Our summer experience | Notebook | Human Practices |
|---|
(Or you can choose different headings. But you must have a team page, a project page, and a notebook page.)
Contents |
Overall project
Your abstract
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3: Speed engineering accelerators and brakes: A cellular cruise control by modulating cell polarity with feedback loops
Motivation: Why is this useful?
Just like we have control over speed in a car – we can brake or accelerate – it would be useful to engineer such behavior into our cellular nanorobots. Just think about it: We could speed cells up to reach their targets faster and stop them once they have arrived or do not behave properly.
Background
For these experiments we chose Dictyostelium cells to test our prototypical brakes and accelerators quickly. We expect that our brakes and accelerators can be used in a plug and play fashion because Dictyostelium’s way of movement is very similar to a neutrophil’s:
When a receptor binds chemoattractant, it induces the conversion of PIP2 to PIP3 (two signaling lipids in the plasma membrane) at the front of our cells. In a positive feedback loop PIP3 triggers the formation of more PIP3 at the front while similarly PIP2 leads to more PIP2 production at the sides and rear of the cell. This system sets the axis of polarity of the cell. The PIP3 patch at the front functions as a ‘turbo boost’ pushing the cell forward.
