Composition-dependent thermodynamics of intracellular phase separation.

ABSTRACT: Intracellular bodies such as nucleoli, Cajal bodies and various signalling assemblies represent membraneless organelles, or condensates, that form via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS)^1,2. Biomolecular interactions-particularly homotypic interactions mediated by self-associating intrinsically disordered protein regions-are thought to underlie the thermodynamic driving forces for LLPS, forming condensates that can facilitate the assembly and processing of biochemically active complexes, such as ribosomal subunits within the nucleolus. Simplified model systems^3-6 have led to the concept that a single fixed saturation concentration is a defining feature of endogenous LLPS^7-9, and has been suggested as a mechanism for intracellular concentration buffering

SUBMITTER: Riback JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7733533 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature