Engineering of mammalian cell membrane proteins

Mammalian cell membrane proteins are attractive targets for engineering, because they are located at the interface between intracellular and extracellular milieus and play a pivotal role in controlling cell fates. Recent progresses in understanding the molecular mechanism of membrane proteins have enabled us to engineer these proteins for use in biomedical applications. The applications include cell fate control with artificial ligands, screening of membrane proteins, mapping of protein–protein interactions, cancer therapy, viral display methods for vaccination/screening, and smart protein labeling technologies using a chemical tool. This paper reviews current topics in the engineering of mammalian cell membrane proteins.

► The mammalian cell membrane can sense extracellular events and display intracellular information.
► Mammalian membrane proteins are attractive targets for engineering since they can control cell fates.
► Progress of molecular biology has enabled engineering of these proteins toward biomedical applications.
► We introduce recently reported interesting approaches in the engineering of these proteins.