Coiled-coil domains are sufficient to drive liquid-liquid phase separation of proteins in molecular models.

ABSTRACT: Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is thought to be a main driving force in the formation of membraneless organelles. Examples of such organelles include the centrosome, central spindle, and stress granules. Recently, it has been shown that coiled-coil (CC) proteins, such as the centrosomal proteins pericentrin, spd-5, and centrosomin, might be capable of LLPS. CC domains have physical features that could make them the drivers of LLPS, but it is unknown if they play a direct role in the process. We developed a coarse-grained simulation framework for investigating the LLPS propensity of CC proteins, in which interactions which support LLPS arise solely from CC domains. We show, using this framework, that the physical features of CC domains are sufficient to drive LLPS of proteins. The fr

SUBMITTER: Ramirez DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10312653 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature