Remodeling of lipid-foam prototissues by network-wide tension fluctuations induced by active particles

Andre A. Gu, Mehmet Can Uçar, Peter Tran, Arthur Prindle, Neha P. Kamat and Jan Steinkühler ()
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Andre A. Gu: Northwestern University
Mehmet Can Uçar: Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Peter Tran: Northwestern University
Arthur Prindle: Northwestern University
Neha P. Kamat: Northwestern University
Jan Steinkühler: Kiel University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Recent advances in the field of bottom-up synthetic biology have led to the development of synthetic cells that mimic some features of real cells, such as division, protein synthesis, or DNA replication. Larger assemblies of synthetic cells may be used to form prototissues. However, existing prototissues are limited by their relatively small lateral dimensions or their lack of remodeling ability. Here, we introduce a lipid-based tissue mimetic that can be easily prepared and functionalized, consisting of a millimeter-sized “lipid-foam” with individual micrometer-sized compartments bound by lipid bilayers. We characterize the structural and mechanical properties of the lipid-foam tissue mimetic, and we demonstrate self-healing capabilities enabled by the fluidity of the lipid bilayers. Upon inclusion of bacteria in the tissue compartments, we observe that the tissue mimetic exhibits network-wide tension fluctuations driven by membrane tension generation by the swimming bacteria. Active tension fluctuations facilitate the fluidization and reorganization of the prototissue, providing a versatile platform for understanding and mimicking biological tissues.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57178-x

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