A Cellular Membrane-Confined Concatenate DNA Circuit for Non-Invasive Cell Modulation with High Accuracy and Efficiency

Non-invasive cell regulation represents a promising approach for on-site cell modulation, but is confronted with inaccuracy or poor cell selectivity. Herein, by virtue of the interfacial-activated concatenate DNA circuit, an activated recombination-to-modulation (ARM) machinery is developed to achieve accurate membrane imaging and effective cell modulation. Bioorthogonal signal transduction through the catalytic hairpin assembly circuit can continuously regenerate triggers for activating the subsequent circuit, with no activator consumption and occupation. The ARM strategy utilizes the amplified hybridization chain reaction to sensitively rearrange membrane receptors for blocking the related signaling pathways and indirectly modulating cell behaviors. Based on these two membrane receptor inputs, the controllably-activated ARM strategy enables the identification of target cells among similar interfering cells with high accuracy and sensitivity. This machinery has demonstrated good performance in the efficient inhibition of tumor metastasis via the disruption of HGF/c-Met-signaling pathway. The modular-designed ARM machinery provides a general platform for non-invasive and specific cell modulation, suggesting a broad opportunity for advanced exploration of cellular metabolism behaviors.