Davis RB, Supakar A, Ranganath AK, Moosa MM, Banerjee PR. Heterotypic interactions can drive selective co-condensation of prion-like low-complexity domains of FET proteins and mammalian SWI/SNF complex.
Nat Commun 2024;
15:1168. [PMID:
38326345 PMCID:
PMC10850361 DOI:
10.1038/s41467-024-44945-5]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Prion-like domains (PLDs) are low-complexity protein sequences enriched within nucleic acid-binding proteins including those involved in transcription and RNA processing. PLDs of FUS and EWSR1 play key roles in recruiting chromatin remodeler mammalian SWI/SNF (mSWI/SNF) complex to oncogenic FET fusion protein condensates. Here, we show that disordered low-complexity domains of multiple SWI/SNF subunits are prion-like with a strong propensity to undergo intracellular phase separation. These PLDs engage in sequence-specific heterotypic interactions with the PLD of FUS in the dilute phase at sub-saturation conditions, leading to the formation of PLD co-condensates. In the dense phase, homotypic and heterotypic PLD interactions are highly cooperative, resulting in the co-mixing of individual PLD phases and forming spatially homogeneous condensates. Heterotypic PLD-mediated positive cooperativity in protein-protein interaction networks is likely to play key roles in the co-phase separation of mSWI/SNF complex with transcription factors containing homologous low-complexity domains.
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