Cycles of protein condensation and discharge in nuclear organelles studied by fluorescence lifetime imaging.

ABSTRACT: Nuclear organelles are viscous droplets, created by concentration-dependent condensation and liquid-liquid phase separation of soluble proteins. Nuclear organelles have been actively investigated for their role in cellular regulation and disease. However, these studies are highly challenging to perform in live cells, and therefore, their physico-chemical properties are still poorly understood. In this study, we describe a fluorescence lifetime imaging approach for real-time monitoring of protein condensation in nuclear organelles of live cultured cells. This approach unravels surprisingly large cyclic changes in concentration of proteins in major nuclear organelles including nucleoli, nuclear speckles, Cajal bodies, as well as in the clusters of heterochromatin. Remarkably, protein concent

SUBMITTER: Pliss A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6349932 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature