The nanoscale properties of bacterial inclusion bodies and their effect on mammalian cell proliferation

The chemical and mechanical properties of bacterial inclusion bodies, produced in different Escherichia coli genetic backgrounds, have been characterized at the nanoscale level. In regard to wild type, DnaK- and ClpA- strains produce inclusion bodies with distinguishable wettability, stiffness and stiffness distribution within the proteinaceous particle. Furthermore it was possible to observe how cultured mammalian cells respond differentially to inclusion body variants when used as particulate materials to engineer the nanoscale topography, proving that the actual range of referred mechanical properties is sensed and discriminated by biological systems. The data provide evidence of the mechanistic activity of the cellular quality control network and the regulation of the stereospecific packaging of partially folded protein species in bacteria. This inclusion body nanoscale profiling offers possibilities for their fine genetic tuning and the resulting macroscopic effects when applied in biological interfaces. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.