Synthetic multistability in mammalian cells

Abstract

In multicellular organisms, gene regulatory circuits generate thousands of molecularly distinct, mitotically heritable states, through the property of multistability. Designing synthetic multistable circuits would provide insight into natural cell fate control circuit architectures and allow engineering of multicellular programs that require interactions among cells in distinct states. Here we introduce MultiFate, a naturally-inspired, synthetic circuit that supports long-term, controllable, and expandable multistability in mammalian cells. MultiFate uses engineered zinc finger transcription factors that transcriptionally self-activate as homodimers and mutually inhibit one another through heterodimerization. Using model-based design, we engineered MultiFate circuits that generate up to seven states, each stable for at least 18 days. MultiFate permits controlled state-switching and modulation of state stability through external inputs, and can be easily expanded with additional transcription factors. Together, these results provide a foundation for engineering multicellular behaviors in mammalian cells.