Electronic signals are electrogenetically relayed to control cell growth and co-culture composition

Kristina Stephens; Fauziah Rahma Zakaria; Eric VanArsdale; Gregory F Payne; William E Bentley

doi:10.1016/j.mec.2021.e00176

Electronic signals are electrogenetically relayed to control cell growth and co-culture composition

Metab Eng Commun. 2021 Jun 13:13:e00176. doi: 10.1016/j.mec.2021.e00176. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Kristina Stephens^{1

2

3}, Fauziah Rahma Zakaria^{1

2

3}, Eric VanArsdale^{1

2

3}, Gregory F Payne^{2

3}, William E Bentley^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, USA.
² Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, College Park, USA.
³ Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices, University of Maryland, College Park, USA.

Abstract

There is much to be gained by enabling electronic interrogation and control of biological function. While the benefits of bioelectronics that rely on potential-driven ionic flows are well known (electrocardiograms, defibrillators, neural prostheses, etc) there are relatively few advances targeting nonionic molecular networks, including genetic circuits. Redox activities combine connectivity to electronics with the potential for specific genetic control in cells. Here, electrode-generated hydrogen peroxide is used to actuate an electrogenetic "relay" cell population, which interprets the redox cue and synthesizes a bacterial signaling molecule (quorum sensing autoinducer AI-1) that, in turn, signals increased growth rate in a second population. The dramatically increased growth rate of the second population is enabled by expression of a phosphotransferase system protein, HPr, which is important for glucose transport. The potential to electronically modulate cell growth via direct genetic control will enable new opportunities in the treatment of disease and manufacture of biological therapeutics and other molecules.

Keywords: Cell-cell signaling; Electrogenetics; Internet-of-things; Microbiome; Quorum sensing.