Light-Induced Activation of c-Met Signalling by Photocontrolled DNA Assembly

Optical manipulation appears to be a powerful tool for spatiotemporally controlling a variety of cellular functions. Herein, a photocontrolled DNA assembly approach is described which enables light-induced activation of cellular signal transduction by triggering protein dimerization (c-Met signalling in this case). Three kinds of DNA probes are designed, including a pair of receptor recognition probes with adaptors and a blocker probe with a photocleavable linker (PC-linker). By implementing PC-linkers in blocker probes, the designed DNA probes response to light irradiation, which then induces the assembly of receptor recognition probes through adaptor complementing. Consequently, light-mediated DNA assembly promotes the dimerization of c-Met receptors, resulting in activation of c-Met signalling. It is demonstrated that the proposed photocontrolled DNA assembly approach is effective for regulating c-Met signalling and modulating cellular behaviours, such as cell proliferation and migration. Therefore, this simple approach may offer a promising strategy to manipulate cell signalling pathways precisely in living cells.