Kshitij Rai , Yiduo Wang , Ronan W. O'Connell , Ankit B. Patel , Caleb J. Bashor
{"title":"Using machine learning to enhance and accelerate synthetic biology","authors":"Kshitij Rai , Yiduo Wang , Ronan W. O'Connell , Ankit B. Patel , Caleb J. Bashor","doi":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100553","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100553","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Engineering synthetic regulatory circuits with precise input–output behavior—a central goal in synthetic biology—remains encumbered by the inherent molecular complexity of cells. Non-linear, high-dimensional interactions between genetic parts and host cell machinery make it difficult to design circuits using first-principles biophysical models. We argue that adopting data-driven approaches that integrate modern machine learning (ML) tools and high-throughput experimental approaches into the synthetic biology design/build/test/learn process could dramatically accelerate the pace and scope of circuit design, yielding workflows that rapidly and systematically discern design principles and achieve quantitatively precise behavior. Current applications of ML to circuit design are occurring at three distinct scales: 1) learning relationships between part sequence and function; 2) determining how part composition determines circuit behavior; 3) understanding how function varies with genomic/host-cell context. This work points toward a future where ML-driven genetic design is used to program robust solutions to complex problems across diverse biotechnology domains.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36748,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering","volume":"31 ","pages":"Article 100553"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142041166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Regeneration of interfaces bridging disparate tissues and systems of the human body","authors":"Melissa L.K. Tate, Helen H. Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100552","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100552","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36748,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering","volume":"32 ","pages":"Article 100552"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141688761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Where the wild molecules are: Engineering the spatial distribution of signaling molecules","authors":"Xinwen Zhu, Erin Neu, Wilson W. Wong","doi":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100551","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100551","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The spatial distribution of the signaling molecules that mediate cell–cell communication and pattern formation is an important consideration for natural and engineered multicellular systems.</p><p>Signaling molecule concentration profiles directly impact cell response profiles, and various experimental techniques can be utilized to modulate these spatial distributions. Current strategies focused on physically or chemically modifying the extracellular space to affect signal distribution include performing experiments in microfluidic devices with dynamic user-controlled inputs and flow rates or adjusting the mesh sizes and protein binding affinities of extracellular matrix-mimicking hydrogels. Recent advances in synthetic biology have paved the way for new approaches that involve directly engineering the signaling molecules, their interactors, and their downstream effectors for fully orthogonal communication platforms.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36748,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering","volume":"31 ","pages":"Article 100551"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141692207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploiting protein domain modularity to enable synthetic control of engineered cells","authors":"Yusef Haikal, John Blazeck","doi":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100550","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100550","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The ability to precisely control cellular function in response to external stimuli can enhance the function and safety of cell therapies. In this review, we will detail how the modularity of protein domains has been exploited for cellular control applications, specifically through design of multifunctional synthetic constructs and controllable split moieties. These advances, which build on techniques developed by biologists, protein chemists and drug developers, harness natural evolutionary tendencies of protein domain fusion and fission. In this light, we will highlight recent advances towards the development of novel immunoreceptors, base editors, and cytokines that have achieved intriguing therapeutic potential by taking advantage of well-known protein evolutionary phenomena and have helped cells learn new tricks via synthetic biology. In general, protein modularity, i.e., the relatively facile separation or (re)assembly of functional single protein domains or subdomains, is becoming an enabling phenomenon for cellular engineering by allowing enhanced control of phenotypic responses.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36748,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering","volume":"31 ","pages":"Article 100550"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141692799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advances in strategies for liver regeneration and replacement","authors":"Savneet Kaur, Pedro Baptista","doi":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100549","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100549","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36748,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering","volume":"31 ","pages":"Article 100549"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141637553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Achieving tendon enthesis regeneration across length scales","authors":"Ismael Bousso , Guy Genin , Stavros Thomopoulos","doi":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100547","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100547","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Surgical reattachment of tendon to bone is a clinical challenge, with unacceptably high retear rates in the early period after repair. A primary reason for these repeated tears is that the multiscale toughening mechanisms found at the healthy tendon enthesis are not regenerated during tendon-to-bone healing. The need for technologies to improve these outcomes is pressing, and the tissue engineering community has responded with many advances that hold promise for eventually regenerating the multiscale tissue interface that transfers loads between the two dissimilar materials, tendon, and bone. This review provides an assessment of the state of these approaches, with the aim of identifying a critical agenda for future progress.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36748,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering","volume":"31 ","pages":"Article 100547"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141141592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Biofabrication approaches to fabricating gradients and interfaces in osteochondral tissue engineering","authors":"Gagan K. Jalandhra , Kristopher A. Kilian","doi":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100544","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100544","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Osteochondral tissue represents a complex biochemical and biophysical gradient between two distinctly different types of tissue. Its poor regeneration capabilities necessitate tissue engineering intervention; however, its complex structure and composition pose an immense engineering challenge. Though bone and cartilage engineering separately have seen success, fabricating the graded interface between these two dissimilar tissue types requires understanding and collaboration between multiple often-disunited disciplines. This review showcases innovative tissue engineering strategies utilised for fabrication of osteochondral interfaces in an attempt to bridge this gap, and highlights the potential of biofabrication techniques – namely 3D bioprinting – in providing a path towards future advancement in osteochondral and interfacial tissue engineering.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36748,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering","volume":"31 ","pages":"Article 100544"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468451124000242/pdfft?md5=ac09ea58a86dcaf7dabc0dee563a2455&pid=1-s2.0-S2468451124000242-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141144586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sotiria Anastopolous , Lucy Ngo , Joanna Ng , Vina Putra , Melissa L. Knothe Tate
{"title":"Interface tissues of the mesoderm: Periosteum, ligament, interosseous membrane, & myofascial tissues, an inspiration for next generation medical textiles","authors":"Sotiria Anastopolous , Lucy Ngo , Joanna Ng , Vina Putra , Melissa L. Knothe Tate","doi":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100543","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100543","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Deriving from the mesoderm at mesenchymal condensation, in the nascent musculoskeletal system, interface tissues include periosteum, ligament, interosseous membrane, and joint capsules. They comprise common structural proteins, collagen, and elastin, woven into anisotropic composites with toughness and elasticity adapted to withstand prevailing dynamic loads. Together with their composite fibrous weave structure, the interface tissues' respective resident cells imbue unique properties to the tissues. For example, the progenitor cells of the periosteal cambium layer express claudin, a tight junction protein that confers anisotropic and smart functional barrier properties to the periosteal membrane; <em>e.g.</em> where permeability is higher in the muscle to bone direction than <em>vice versa</em> under high flow rates typical for trauma. This review compares properties of interface tissues, focusing on periosteum, the interosseous membrane (a specialized ligament structure), and the deep (investing) fascia. It highlights current gaps in understanding as well as opportunities to create and advance manufacture next generation medical textiles and devices that emulate interface tissue properties.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36748,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering","volume":"31 ","pages":"Article 100543"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2024-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141145693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Melanie Haffner-Luntzer , Stefan O. Reber , Markus Huber-Lang , Anita Ignatius
{"title":"Regeneration at the interface of mental and physical health after trauma","authors":"Melanie Haffner-Luntzer , Stefan O. Reber , Markus Huber-Lang , Anita Ignatius","doi":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100545","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobme.2024.100545","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Trauma, both psychological and physical, represents a complex and pervasive challenge to individual well-being. This paper explores the dynamic interplay between mental and physical health in the context of trauma, shedding light on the processes of regeneration that occur at their interface. Drawing from a comprehensive review of basic, clinical and interdisciplinary research, this paper elucidates the bidirectional relationships between mental and physical health outcomes following traumatic experiences. Especially the influence of inflammation, gut microbiome, stress hormones and the activation of the HPA axis are explored in more detail. In conclusion, stress-related disorders and mental diseases should be taken into account when patients display a disturbed healing after physical injury. Awareness for the significant impact of mental health on trauma outcome should be increased among physicians.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36748,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering","volume":"31 ","pages":"Article 100545"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468451124000254/pdfft?md5=fc5830e9ae927d2be644401d3b22fff4&pid=1-s2.0-S2468451124000254-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141133443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}