From 2013.igem.org

Background and Enabling Technologies

This summer, the 2013 MIT iGEM team worked to engineer exosome mediated cell-to-cell communication. In vivo cell-to-cell communication is vital for pattern formation, organ development, coordinated responses to environmental changes, and the maintenance of an organism (Bacchus, 2012)

One exciting application is in drug testing and development: tissue engineers are currently working to develop organoids (Lancaster, 2013) small tissue structures that recapitulate the behavior of organs in vitro. Organoids can be used to test drugs more rigorously in a human-like context rather than relying solely on animal models. Thus drugs can be developed with a better understanding of their toxicity and efficacy.

Organoid development promises to advance medical research and the development of clinical treatments. Tissue engineering will progress more rapidly with the development of engineered cell-to-cell communication. Engineered communication would aid in the creation of more highly networked structures and allow for better transport of factors required for differentiation (Rosello, 2010). The 2013 MIT iGEM proposes to use exosomes as a novel means of achieving engineered cell-to-cell communication.

Citations

Bacchus, William et al. Synthetic two-way communication between mammalian cells. Nat. Biotechnol. 30, 991–996 (2012) Lancaster, Madeline et al. Cerebral organoids model human brain development and microcephaly. Nature 501, 373–379 (2013) Barrangou, Rodolphe et al. CRISPR Provides Acquired Resistance Against Viruses in Prokaryotes. Science 314, 1709-1712 (2007) Shen, B et al. Protein targeting to exosomes/microvesicles by plasma membrane anchors. J Biol Chem. (2011)