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Mix-and-match tools for protein injection into cells

An injection system from bacteria has been re-engineered in an effort to develop a programmable system for protein delivery into cells. Its customizability opens the door to a multitude of biomedical applications.
  1. Charles F. Ericson

    1. Charles F. Ericson is at the Institute of Molecular Biology & Biophysics, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.

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  2. Martin Pilhofer

    1. Martin Pilhofer is at the Institute of Molecular Biology & Biophysics, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.

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Having the ability to deliver particular proteins into specific cell types would offer tremendous potential for research in the life sciences, as well as for the treatment of disease. However, the combined challenges that arise from trying to target cell types of interest and being able to transport proteins of choice across cellular membranes have made the development of such tools a difficult task. Writing in Nature, Kreitz et al.1 report the development of a programmable system for protein delivery that is derived from a molecular injection device found in bacteria. Building on a growing body of knowledge regarding the mechanisms that mediate bacterial interactions with cells, the authors show that this approach can be tuned to target specific cells and to deliver customized protein cargoes (payloads). These re-engineered injection complexes represent an exciting biotechnological toolbox that could have applications in various biological systems.

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Nature 616, 254-255 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00847-y

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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