The Interplay of Structural and Cellular Biophysics Controls Clustering of Multivalent Molecules.

ABSTRACT: Dynamic molecular clusters are assembled through weak multivalent interactions and are platforms for cellular functions, especially receptor-mediated signaling. Clustering is also a prerequisite for liquid-liquid phase separation. It is not well understood, however, how molecular structure and cellular organization control clustering. Using coarse-grained kinetic Langevin dynamics, we performed computational experiments on a prototypical ternary system modeled after membrane-bound nephrin, the adaptor Nck1, and the actin nucleation promoting factor NWASP. Steady-state cluster size distributions favored stoichiometries that optimized binding (stoichiometry matching) but still were quite broad. At high concentrations, the system can be driven beyond the saturation boundary such that cluster

SUBMITTER: Chattaraj A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6369576 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature