Engineering Tissue-Scale Properties with Synthetic Cells: Forging One from Many

Inmetazoans, living cells achieve capabilities beyond individualcell functionality by assembling into multicellular tissue structures.These higher-order structures represent dynamic, heterogeneous, andresponsive systems that have evolved to regenerate and coordinatetheir actions over large distances. Recent advances in constructingmicrometer-sized vesicles, or synthetic cells, now point to a futurewhere construction of synthetic tissue can be pursued, a boon to pressingmaterial needs in biomedical implants, drug delivery systems, adhesives,filters, and storage devices, among others. To fully realize the potentialof synthetic tissue, inspiration has been and will continue to bedrawn from new molecular findings on its natural counterpart. In thisreview, we describe advances in introducing tissue-scale featuresinto synthetic cell assemblies. Beyond mere complexation, syntheticcells have been fashioned with a variety of natural and engineeredmolecular components that serve as initial steps toward morphologicalcontrol and patterning, intercellular communication, replication,and responsiveness in synthetic tissue. Particular attention has beenpaid to the dynamics, spatial constraints, and mechanical strengthsof interactions that drive the synthesis of this next-generation material,describing how multiple synthetic cells can act as one.

Automated summary

Inmetazoans, living cells form multicellular tissue structures to achieve capabilities beyond individual cell functionality. Recent advances in constructing synthetic cells point to a future where synthetic tissue can be pursued, benefiting biomedical implants, drug delivery systems, and other applications. Molecular findings on natural tissue inspire the development of synthetic tissue with tissue-scale features, such as morphological control, intercellular communication, replication, and responsiveness.