DIALECT: DNA-Programmable Synthetic Cells Communicate with Mammalian Cells through Synthetic Receptors
Synthetic cells can regulate mammalian signalling through the controlled release of diffusible protein ligands, but coupling programmable synthetic-cell senders to orthogonal, engineered mammalian receptors remains challenging. Here we present DIALECT (DNA-Instructed Assembly of Ligands for Engineered Cellular Transduction), a platform in which proteinosome-based synthetic cells translate sequence-defined DNA inputs into coiled-coil signalling ligand outputs for engineered mammalian receptors. DNA-ligand conjugates are localized within semipermeable proteinosomes through DNA hybridization and released by toehold-mediated DNA strand displacement (TMSD). The released ligands diffuse to neighbouring mammalian cells and activate cognate CC-GEMS receptors, inducing JAK/STAT3 signalling and reporter activation, with a higher response in cognate than non-cognate receiver cells under activation conditions. We further implement distributed Boolean AND logic using two independently programmed proteinosome populations that respond to distinct DNA inputs and release complementary ligand components. Simultaneous addition of both inputs produces substantially higher reporter activity than the respective single-input conditions, consistent with extracellular assembly of an active receptor agonist. DIALECT thus establishes a modular interface linking DNA-based molecular computation in synthetic cells to orthogonal signalling pathways in mammalian cells, providing a foundation for hybrid artificial-biological communication networks.