The entry point for the viral vector into the target cells is the mCAT-1 receptor. Only murine cells that express the receptor (e.g. NIH3T3) can be infected by the virus. Upon expression of the receptor, also cell lines from other species can be infected, e.g. the human cell line HEK293. Here you see a cell culture expressing the mCAT-1 receptor (red) and the EGFP reporter delivered by virus (green).

To illuminate our cells, we build our own light boxes. Here you can see the inner life of our box for an illumination with light of the wavelength of 465 nm.

We generated a viral vector based on the Murine Leukemia Virus (MuLV) that stably integrates DNA into the genome of mammalian target cells. We optimized the transduction efficiency to almost 100%.

We combined light induced expression of the mCAT-1 receptor with the delivery of our genes of interest by the viral vector. Only upon illumination with blue light, the virus can enter the target cells, and the cargo DNA is stably integrated into their genome.

Spatio-temporal control of gene expression plays in increasingly important role in synthetic biology. We tested systems for blue light induction and red light induction of expression of reporters in mammalina cells. Here you see an example of a pattern we generated on a 96-well plate. We generated cell lines that stably express several components of the light inducible system.