Cytomimetic calcification in chemically self-regulated prototissues
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Sun, Rui
Yin, Zhuping
Stevens, Molly M
Li, Mei
Mann, Stephen
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The fabrication of cytomimetic materials capable of orchestrated and adaptive functions remains a significant challenge in bottom-up synthetic biology. Inspired by the cell/matrix integration of living bone, here we covalently tether distributed single populations of alkaline phosphatase-containing inorganic protocells (colloidosomes) onto a crosslinked organic network to establish viscoelastic tissue-like micro-composites. The prototissues are endogenously calcified with site-specific mineralization modalities involving selective intra-protocellular calcification, matrix-specific extra-protocellular calcification or gradient calcification. To mirror the interplay between osteoblasts and osteoclasts, we prepare integrated prototissues comprising a binary population of enzymatically active colloidosomes capable of endogenous calcification and decalcification and utilize chemical inputs to induce structural remodelling. Overall, our methodology opens a route to the chemically self-regulated calcification of homogeneous and gradient tissue-like mineral-matrix composites, advances the development of bottom-up synthetic biology in chemical materials research, and could provide potential opportunities in bioinspired tissue engineering, hydrogel technologies and bone biomimetics.
Date Issued
2025-05-03
Date Acceptance
2025-04-16
Citation
Nature Communications, 2025, 16
ISSN
2041-1723
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Start Page
4138
Journal / Book Title
Nature Communications
Volume
16
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Subjects
Osteoclasts
Osteoblasts
Animals
Humans
Alkaline Phosphatase
Tissue Engineering
Biomimetics
Calcification, Physiologic
Biomimetic Materials
Artificial Cells
Synthetic Biology
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
4138
Date Publish Online
2025-05-03