Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28775370›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2017

Development of SimCells as a novel chassis for functional biosensors.

Cordelia P N Rampley, Paul A Davison, Pu Qian, Gail M Preston, C Neil Hunter, Ian P Thompson, Ling Juan Wu, Wei E Huang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Reprogrammed SimCells for antimicrobial therapy.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  3. A Safe and Versatile Minicell Platform Derived fromJournal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2025
    Article
  4. Bacterial Minicell-Based Biohybrid Sub-micron Swimmers for Targeted Cargo Delivery.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Leveraging EngineeredACS synthetic biology · 2025
    Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Chromosome-free bacterial cells are safe and programmable platforms for synthetic biology.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2020
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Development of Aspirin-Inducible Biosensors inApplied and environmental microbiology · 2019
    Article
  19. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Cordelia P N RampleyDepartment of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PJ, United Kingdom.
Paul A DavisonDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, United Kingdom.
Pu QianDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, United Kingdom.
Gail M PrestonDepartment of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RB, Oxford, United Kingdom.
C Neil HunterDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-2533-9783
Ian P ThompsonDepartment of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PJ, United Kingdom.
Ling Juan WuThe Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, Richardson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4AX, United Kingdom.
Wei E HuangDepartment of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PJ, United Kingdom. wei.huang@eng.ox.ac.uk.

Funding

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/M000265/1Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This work serves as a proof-of-concept for bacterially derived SimCells (Simple Cells), which contain the cell machinery from bacteria and designed DNA (or potentially a simplified genome) to instruct the cell to carry out novel, specific tasks. SimCells represent a reprogrammable chassis without a native chromosome, which can host designed DNA to perform defined functions. In this paper, the use of Escherichia coli MC1000 ∆minD minicells as a non-reproducing chassis for SimCells was explored, as demonstrated by their ability to act as sensitive biosensors for small molecules. Highly purified minicells derived from E. coli strains containing gene circuits for biosensing were able to transduce the input signals from several small molecules (glucarate, acrylate and arabinose) into the production of green fluorescent protein (GFP). A mathematical model was developed to fit the experimental data for induction of gene expression in SimCells. The intracellular ATP level was shown to be important for SimCell function. A purification and storage protocol was developed to prepare SimCells which could retain their functions for an extended period of time. This study demonstrates that SimCells are able to perform as 'smart bioparticles' controlled by designed gene circuits.

Identifiers

PMID28775370
PMCPMC5543166

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.