Regulation of artificial supramolecular transmembrane signal transduction by selenium-containing artificial enzyme receptors

Signal transduction across lipid bilayers is of profound importance in biological processes. In biological systems, natural enzymes mediate biochemical effects by binding to substrates and facilitating the conversion of external signals into physiological responses. Sequential transmission of biological signals from one enzyme to the next promotes signal transduction with feedforward and feedback mechanisms. Reconstructing these processes in an artificial system provides potential applications and offers a new way to understand fundamental biological processes in depth. However, the design of artificial signal transduction systems regulated by artificial enzyme receptors in a predictable and intelligent manner remains a challenge. Herein, benefiting from the polarity-regulated characteristics of Se-containing compounds with artificial glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity, we constructed an artificial transmembrane signaling receptor with a Se-containing GPx-like recognition head group, a membrane-anchoring group, and a pre-enzyme end group. The artificial supramolecular signal transduction system containing such signal transduction receptors extends the range of signaling systems based on enzyme regulation, which provides a new way to study natural signal processes in cells and artificially regulated biological processes.

Automated summary

In this study, an artificial transmembrane signaling receptor system was constructed using artificial glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and the polarity-regulated characteristics of Se-containing compounds. This system extends the range of signaling systems based on enzyme regulation and offers a new approach to study natural signal processes in cells and artificially regulated biological processes.