Cell Surface Engineering Using DNA-poly(ethylene glycol)-lipid Conjugates

Abstract

Engineering of cell surface with natural and synthetic molecules is expected to provide new approaches for biomedical applications. We have used single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), which was conjugated both to poly (ethylene glycol) and to a terminal phospholipid for cell surface engineering. The lipid moiety is inserted in the lipid bilayer of living cells through hydrophobic interaction, resulting in presentation of ssDNA on the cells surface. This allows for modification of cell surface with biomolecules and attachment of cells to either substrates or different cells, all of which present the complementary ssDNA. The modification of cell surface with proteins or drug-loaded liposomes effectively suppress undesirable biological reactions on cell surface. In addition, high specificity of DNA hybridization and variation of DNA sequences enable to control cell-substrate and cell-cell attachment in a spatially controlled manner. This technique is useful to biomedical applications including cell therapy and tissue engineering.