title: Mammalian synthetic biology for studying the cell.
abstract: Synthetic biology is advancing the design of genetic devices that enable the study of cellular and molecular biology in mammalian cells. These genetic devices use diverse regulatory mechanisms to both examine cellular processes and achieve precise and dynamic control of cellular phenotype. Synthetic biology tools provide novel functionality to complement the examination of natural cell systems, including engineered molecules with specific activities and model systems that mimic complex regulatory processes. Continued development of quantitative standards and computational tools will expand capacities to probe cellular mechanisms with genetic devices to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the cell. In this study, we review synthetic biology tools that are being applied to effectively investigate diverse cellular processes, regulatory networks, and multicellular interactions. We also discuss current challenges and future developments in the field that may transform the types of investigation possible in cell biology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
authors.forename: Melina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mathur
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
authors.forename: Joy S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 csmolke@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Christina D
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5449-8495
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Smolke
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D003585:Cell Biology; D002450:Cell Communication; D003584:Cytological Techniques; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D034622:RNA Interference; D015398:Signal Transduction; D058615:Synthetic Biology / Q000379:methods*