1
|
Islam M, Shen F, Regmi D, Petersen K, Karim MRU, Du D. Tau liquid-liquid phase separation: At the crossroads of tau physiology and tauopathy. J Cell Physiol 2024; 239:e30853. [PMID: 35980344 PMCID: PMC9938090 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.30853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Abnormal deposition of tau in neurons is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease and several other neurodegenerative disorders. In the past decades, extensive efforts have been made to explore the mechanistic pathways underlying the development of tauopathies. Recently, the discovery of tau droplet formation by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) has received a great deal of attention. It has been reported that tau condensates have a biological role in promoting and stabilizing microtubule (MT) assembly. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that the transition of phase-separated tau droplets to a gel-like state and then to fibrils is associated with the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we outline LLPS, the structural disorder that facilitates tau droplet formation, the effects of posttranslational modification of tau on condensate formation, the physiological function of tau droplets, the pathways from droplet to toxic fibrils, and the therapeutic strategies for tauopathies that might evolve from toxic droplets. We expect a deeper understanding of tau LLPS will provide additional insights into tau physiology and tauopathies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Majedul Islam
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, United States
| | - Fengyun Shen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, United States
| | - Deepika Regmi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, United States
| | - Katherine Petersen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, United States
| | - Md Raza Ul Karim
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, United States
| | - Deguo Du
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, United States
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Onuh G, Harries D, Manor O. Depletion-Induced Self-Assembly of Colloidal Particles on a Solid Substrate. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:8554-8561. [PMID: 38651184 PMCID: PMC11044580 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c00186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
We investigate the depletion contributions to the self-assembly of microcolloids on solid substrates. The assembly is driven by the exclusion of nanoparticles and nonadsorbing polymers from the depletion zone between the microcolloids in the liquid and the underlying substrate. The model system consists of 1 μm polystyrene particles that we deposit on a flat glass slab in an electrolyte solution. Using polystyrene nanoparticles and poly(acrylic acid) polymers as depleting agents, we demonstrate in our experiments that nanoparticle concentrations of 0.5% (w/v) support well-ordered packing of microcolloids on glass, while the presence of polymers leads to irregular aggregate deposition structures. A mixture of nanoparticles and polymers enhances the formation of colloidal aggregate and particulate surface coverage compared to using the polymers alone as a depletion agent. Moreover, tuning the polymer ionization state from pH 4 to 9 modifies the polymer conformational state and radius of gyration, which in turn alters the microcolloid deposition from compact multilayers to flocculated structures. Our study provides entropic strategies for manipulating particulate assembly on substrates from dispersed to continuous coatings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gideon Onuh
- The
Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200000, Israel
| | - Daniel Harries
- The
Fritz Haber Research Center, and the Harvey M. Kruger Center for Nanoscience
& Nanotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
| | - Ofer Manor
- The
Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200000, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Alfano C, Fichou Y, Huber K, Weiss M, Spruijt E, Ebbinghaus S, De Luca G, Morando MA, Vetri V, Temussi PA, Pastore A. Molecular Crowding: The History and Development of a Scientific Paradigm. Chem Rev 2024; 124:3186-3219. [PMID: 38466779 PMCID: PMC10979406 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
It is now generally accepted that macromolecules do not act in isolation but "live" in a crowded environment, that is, an environment populated by numerous different molecules. The field of molecular crowding has its origins in the far 80s but became accepted only by the end of the 90s. In the present issue, we discuss various aspects that are influenced by crowding and need to consider its effects. This Review is meant as an introduction to the theme and an analysis of the evolution of the crowding concept through time from colloidal and polymer physics to a more biological perspective. We introduce themes that will be more thoroughly treated in other Reviews of the present issue. In our intentions, each Review may stand by itself, but the complete collection has the aspiration to provide different but complementary perspectives to propose a more holistic view of molecular crowding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Caterina Alfano
- Structural
Biology and Biophysics Unit, Fondazione
Ri.MED, 90100 Palermo, Italy
| | - Yann Fichou
- CNRS,
Bordeaux INP, CBMN UMR 5248, IECB, University
of Bordeaux, F-33600 Pessac, France
| | - Klaus Huber
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Paderborn, 33098 Paderborn, Germany
| | - Matthias Weiss
- Experimental
Physics I, Physics of Living Matter, University
of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Evan Spruijt
- Institute
for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Simon Ebbinghaus
- Lehrstuhl
für Biophysikalische Chemie and Research Center Chemical Sciences
and Sustainability, Research Alliance Ruhr, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Giuseppe De Luca
- Dipartimento
di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | | | - Valeria Vetri
- Dipartimento
di Fisica e Chimica − Emilio Segrè, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | | | - Annalisa Pastore
- King’s
College London, Denmark
Hill Campus, SE5 9RT London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Rai S, Pramanik S, Mukherjee S. Deciphering the liquid-liquid phase separation induced modulation in the structure, dynamics, and enzymatic activity of an ordered protein β-lactoglobulin. Chem Sci 2024; 15:3936-3948. [PMID: 38487243 PMCID: PMC10935713 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc06802a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Owing to the significant role in the subcellular organization of biomolecules, physiology, and the realm of biomimetic materials, studies related to biomolecular condensates formed through liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) have emerged as a growing area of research. Despite valuable contributions of prior research, there is untapped potential in exploring the influence of phase separation on the conformational dynamics and enzymatic activities of native proteins. Herein, we investigate the LLPS of β-lactoglobulin (β-LG), a non-intrinsically disordered protein, under crowded conditions. In-depth characterization through spectroscopic and microscopic techniques revealed the formation of dynamic liquid-like droplets, distinct from protein aggregates, driven by hydrophobic interactions. Our analyses revealed that phase separation can alter structural flexibility and photophysical properties. Importantly, the phase-separated β-LG exhibited efficient enzymatic activity as an esterase; a characteristic seemingly exclusive to β-LG droplets. The droplets acted as robust catalytic crucibles, providing an ideal environment for efficient ester hydrolysis. Further investigation into the catalytic mechanism suggested the involvement of specific amino acid residues, rather than general acid or base catalysis. Also, the alteration in conformational distribution caused by phase separation unveils the latent functionality. Our study delineates the understanding of protein phase separation and insights into the diverse catalytic strategies employed by proteins. It opens exciting possibilities for designing functional artificial compartments based on phase-separated biomolecules.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Saurabh Rai
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal Bhopal Bypass Road Bhopal 462066 Madhya Pradesh India
| | - Srikrishna Pramanik
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal Bhopal Bypass Road Bhopal 462066 Madhya Pradesh India
| | - Saptarshi Mukherjee
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal Bhopal Bypass Road Bhopal 462066 Madhya Pradesh India
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Monterroso B, Margolin W, Boersma AJ, Rivas G, Poolman B, Zorrilla S. Macromolecular Crowding, Phase Separation, and Homeostasis in the Orchestration of Bacterial Cellular Functions. Chem Rev 2024; 124:1899-1949. [PMID: 38331392 PMCID: PMC10906006 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Macromolecular crowding affects the activity of proteins and functional macromolecular complexes in all cells, including bacteria. Crowding, together with physicochemical parameters such as pH, ionic strength, and the energy status, influences the structure of the cytoplasm and thereby indirectly macromolecular function. Notably, crowding also promotes the formation of biomolecular condensates by phase separation, initially identified in eukaryotic cells but more recently discovered to play key functions in bacteria. Bacterial cells require a variety of mechanisms to maintain physicochemical homeostasis, in particular in environments with fluctuating conditions, and the formation of biomolecular condensates is emerging as one such mechanism. In this work, we connect physicochemical homeostasis and macromolecular crowding with the formation and function of biomolecular condensates in the bacterial cell and compare the supramolecular structures found in bacteria with those of eukaryotic cells. We focus on the effects of crowding and phase separation on the control of bacterial chromosome replication, segregation, and cell division, and we discuss the contribution of biomolecular condensates to bacterial cell fitness and adaptation to environmental stress.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Begoña Monterroso
- Department
of Structural and Chemical Biology, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas
Margarita Salas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones
Científicas (CSIC), 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - William Margolin
- Department
of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, McGovern Medical School, UTHealth-Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Arnold J. Boersma
- Cellular
Protein Chemistry, Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty
of Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Germán Rivas
- Department
of Structural and Chemical Biology, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas
Margarita Salas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones
Científicas (CSIC), 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Bert Poolman
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Silvia Zorrilla
- Department
of Structural and Chemical Biology, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas
Margarita Salas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones
Científicas (CSIC), 28040 Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Mersch SA, Bergman S, Sheets ED, Boersma AJ, Heikal AA. Two-photon excited-state dynamics of mEGFP-linker-mScarlet-I crowding biosensor in controlled environments. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:3927-3940. [PMID: 38231116 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04733d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Macromolecular crowding affects many cellular processes such as diffusion, biochemical reaction kinetics, protein-protein interactions, and protein folding. Mapping the heterogeneous, dynamic crowding in living cells or tissues requires genetically encoded, site-specific, crowding sensors that are compatible with quantitative, noninvasive fluorescence micro-spectroscopy. Here, we carried out time-resolved 2P-fluorescence measurements of a new mEGFP-linker-mScarlet-I macromolecular crowding construct (GE2.3) to characterize its environmental sensitivity in biomimetic crowded solutions (Ficoll-70, 0-300 g L-1) via Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis. The 2P-fluorescence lifetime of the donor (mEGFP) was measured under magic-angle polarization, in the presence (intact) and absence (enzymatically cleaved) of the acceptor (mScarlet-I), as a function of the Ficoll-70 concentration. The FRET efficiency was used to quantify the sensitivity of GE2.3 to macromolecular crowding and to determine the environmental dependence of the mEGFP-mScarlet-I distance. We also carried out time-resolved 2P-fluorescence depolarization anisotropy to examine both macromolecular crowding and linker flexibility effects on GE2.3 rotational dynamics within the context of the Stokes-Einstein model as compared with theoretical predictions based on its molecular weight. These time-resolved 2P-fluorescence depolarization measurements and conformational population analyses of GE2.3 were also used to estimate the free energy gain upon the structural collapse in crowded environment. Our results further the development of a rational engineering design for bioenvironmental sensors without the interference of cellular autofluorescence. Additionally, these results in well-defined environments will inform our future in vivo studies of genetically encoded GE2.3 towards the mapping of the crowded intracellular environment under different physiological conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Mersch
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Swenson College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USA.
| | - Sarah Bergman
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Swenson College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USA.
| | - Erin D Sheets
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Swenson College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USA.
| | - Arnold J Boersma
- Cellular Protein Chemistry, Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Ahmed A Heikal
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Swenson College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Singh BP, Cheppali SK, Saha I, Swamy MJ. Contrasting effects of molecular crowding on the membrane-perturbing and chaperone-like activities of major bovine seminal plasma protein, PDC-109. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 254:127573. [PMID: 37923045 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.127573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Crowded environments inside cells and biological fluids greatly affect protein stability and activity. PDC-109, a polydisperse oligomeric protein of the bovine seminal plasma selectively binds choline phospholipids on the sperm cell surface and causes membrane destabilization and lipid efflux, leading to acrosome reaction. PDC-109 also exhibits chaperone-like activity (CLA) and protects client proteins against various kinds of stress, such as high temperature and low pH. In the present work, we have investigated the effect of molecular crowding on these two different activities of PDC-109 employing Dextran 70 (D70) - a widely used polymeric dextran - as the crowding agent. The results obtained show that presence of D70 markedly increases membrane destabilization by PDC-109. Isothermal titration calorimetric studies revealed that under crowded condition the binding affinity of PDC-109 for choline phospholipids increases approximately 3-fold, which could in turn facilitate membrane destabilization. In contrast, under identical conditions, its CLA was reduced significantly. The decreased CLA could be correlated to reduced surface hydrophobicity, which was due to stabilization of the protein oligomers. These results establish that molecular crowding exhibits contrasting effects on two different functional activities of PDC-109 and highlight the importance of microenvironment of proteins in modulating their functional activities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ishita Saha
- School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500 046, India
| | - Musti J Swamy
- School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500 046, India.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Löwe M, Hänsch S, Hachani E, Schmitt L, Weidtkamp-Peters S, Kedrov A. Probing macromolecular crowding at the lipid membrane interface with genetically-encoded sensors. Protein Sci 2023; 32:e4797. [PMID: 37779215 PMCID: PMC10578116 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
Biochemical processes within the living cell occur in a highly crowded environment, where macromolecules, first of all proteins and nucleic acids, occupy up to 30% of the volume. The phenomenon of macromolecular crowding is not an exclusive feature of the cytoplasm and can be observed in the densely protein-packed, nonhomogeneous cellular membranes and at the membrane interfaces. Crowding affects diffusional and conformational dynamics of proteins within the lipid bilayer, alters kinetic and thermodynamic properties of biochemical reactions, and modulates the membrane organization. Despite its importance, the non-invasive quantification of the membrane crowding is not trivial. Here, we developed a genetically-encoded fluorescence-based sensor for probing the macromolecular crowding at the membrane interfaces. Two sensor variants, both composed of fluorescent proteins and a membrane anchor, but differing by flexible linker domains were characterized in vitro, and the procedures for the membrane reconstitution were established. Steric pressure induced by membrane-tethered synthetic and protein crowders altered the sensors' conformation, causing increase in the intramolecular Förster's resonance energy transfer. Notably, the effect of protein crowders only weakly correlated with their molecular weight, suggesting that other factors, such as shape and charge contribute to the crowding via the quinary interactions. Finally, measurements performed in inner membrane vesicles of Escherichia coli validated the crowding-dependent dynamics of the sensors in the physiologically relevant environment. The sensors offer broad opportunities to study interfacial crowding in a complex environment of native membranes, and thus add to the toolbox of methods for studying membrane dynamics and proteostasis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maryna Löwe
- Synthetic Membrane Systems, Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Sebastian Hänsch
- Center for Advanced imaging, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Eymen Hachani
- Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Lutz Schmitt
- Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | | | - Alexej Kedrov
- Synthetic Membrane Systems, Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Liang T, Yang C, Song X, Feng Y, Liu Y, Chen H. Quantification of macromolecule crowding at single-molecule level. Phys Rev E 2023; 108:014406. [PMID: 37583195 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.108.014406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
Macromolecule crowding has a prominent impact on a series of biochemical processes in the cell. It is also expected to promote macromolecular complexation induced by excluded volume effects, which conflicts with recent advances in the thermodynamic interaction between inert, synthetic polymers, and nucleic acids. Along this line, a method combining high-resolution magnetic tweezers and extended crowder-oxDNA model was applied to resolve these discrepancies by systematically studying the kinetics and thermodynamics of the folding-unfolding transition for an individual DNA hairpin in a crowded environment. More specifically, from the magnetic tweezers-based experiments, the linear dependence of the critical force of the DNA hairpin on the polyethylene glycol (PEG) concentration was demonstrated, which is consistent with the results based on the crowder-oxDNA model in which the Lennard-Jones potential was adopted to express the interaction between the crowders and the DNA hairpin. These consistencies highlight that the excluded volume effects are mainly responsible for the interaction between PEG and the DNA hairpin, which is different from the interaction between dextran and the DNA hairpin. In the meantime, the dependence of the folding rate on the molecule weight of PEG, which was different from fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based results, was identified. The proposed method opens a path to detect the interaction between an inert, synthetic molecule, and the DNA hairpin, which is important to accurately mimic the cytosolic environments using mixtures of different inert molecules.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ting Liang
- College of Physics, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Chao Yang
- College of Physics, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Xiaoya Song
- College of Physics, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Yuyu Feng
- College of Physics, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Yanhui Liu
- College of Physics, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Hu Chen
- Research Institute for Biomimetics and Soft Matter, Fujian Provincial Key Lab for Soft Functional Materials Research, Department of Physics, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, People's Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Kim JM, Seong BL, Jung J. Highly chromophoric dual-terminus labeling of an intrinsically disordered native eukaryotic protein of interest at nanoscale. Int J Biol Macromol 2023:125396. [PMID: 37348577 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.125396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
Chemical conjugation of purified proteins of interest (POIs) in Escherichia coli cells is effective for high expression but has limitations for highly chromogenic dual labeling of intrinsically disordered native proteins (IDNPs). Our probes can tag IDNPs using chemical conjugation during protein synthesis and folding while preserving biologically active structures in mammalian cells. We fluorescently labeled IDNPs in mammalian cells using pure fluorescent methionine and ATTO 565-biotin at the N-or C-terminus, respectively. The dual-labeled Tat protein was used as a model for IDNPs in HeLa cells and detected using Ni-NTA beads to estimate its highly chromogenic concentration. We also demonstrated highly chromogenic double labeling of genetically encoded fluorescent-Tat expression in eukaryotic cells using a single fluorescent dye pair with Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) ratio and two-color correlation analysis. This study aims to solve native POI processing and achieve ultra-sensitive protein folding for biological and ecological applications at the nanoscale.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jung Min Kim
- Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Ojeong Resilience Institute, Korea University, Anam-ro 145, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02842, Republic of Korea.
| | - Baik Lin Seong
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Jinho Jung
- Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Anam-ro 145, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02842, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Shew CY, Yoshikawa K. Crowding effect on the alignment of rod molecules confined in a spherical cavity. Chem Phys Lett 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2023.140437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
|
12
|
Yang C, Song X, Feng Y, Zhao G, Liu Y. Stability of DNA and RNA hairpins: a comparative study based on ox-DNA. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2023; 35:265101. [PMID: 36972608 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/acc7eb] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Advances in single-molecule experiments on macromolecular crowding urgently need an efficient simulation method to resolve their discrepancies quantitatively. Ox-DNA model has been since reworked to treat the thermodynamics and mechanical properties of DNA/RNA hairpin at a stretching force. In hopping experiments, the critical forces of RNA hairpins at different temperatures are greater than those of DNA hairpins, in addition, the Gibbs free energy at a fixed temperature required to convert an RNA hairpin into a single-stranded molecule at zero force is obviously greater than that of DNA hairpin and gradually decreases by increasing the temperature. As far as force-ramping experiments are concerned, the first-rupture forces of RNA/DNA hairpins corresponding to the maximum probability density linearly pertain to the force-loading rate, with those of RNA hairpins being greater. The extended ox-DNA model could potentially identify the interaction between biologically inert polymer and RNA/DNA hairpins in crowded environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chao Yang
- College of Physics, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoya Song
- College of Physics, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuyu Feng
- College of Physics, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, People's Republic of China
| | - Guangju Zhao
- College of Physics, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, People's Republic of China
| | - Yanhui Liu
- College of Physics, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, People's Republic of China
- Breeding and Reproduction in the Plateau Mountainous Region, Ministry of Education (Guizhou University), Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, People's Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Public Big Data, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, People's Republic of China
- Kechuang Industrial Development Company Limited,Gui'an New Area, Guiyang 550025, People's Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
André AAM, Yewdall NA, Spruijt E. Crowding-induced phase separation and gelling by co-condensation of PEG in NPM1-rRNA condensates. Biophys J 2023; 122:397-407. [PMID: 36463407 PMCID: PMC9892608 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The crowdedness of the cell calls for adequate intracellular organization. Biomolecular condensates, formed by liquid-liquid phase separation of intrinsically disordered proteins and nucleic acids, are important organizers of cellular fluids. To underpin the molecular mechanisms of protein condensation, cell-free studies are often used where the role of crowding is not investigated in detail. Here, we investigate the effects of macromolecular crowding on the formation and material properties of a model heterotypic biomolecular condensate, consisting of nucleophosmin (NPM1) and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). We studied the effect of the macromolecular crowding agent poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), which is often considered an inert crowding agent. We observed that PEG could induce both homotypic and heterotypic phase separation of NPM1 and NPM1-rRNA, respectively. Crowding increases the condensed concentration of NPM1 and decreases its equilibrium dilute phase concentration, although no significant change in the concentration of rRNA in the dilute phase was observed. Interestingly, the crowder itself is concentrated in the condensates, suggesting that co-condensation rather than excluded volume interactions underlie the enhanced phase separation by PEG. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching measurements indicated that both NPM1 and rRNA become immobile at high PEG concentrations, indicative of a liquid-to-gel transition. Together, these results provide more insight into the role of synthetic crowding agents in phase separation and demonstrate that condensate properties determined in vitro depend strongly on the addition of crowding agents.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alain A M André
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - N Amy Yewdall
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Evan Spruijt
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
In vitro assembly, positioning and contraction of a division ring in minimal cells. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6098. [PMID: 36243816 PMCID: PMC9569390 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33679-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Constructing a minimal machinery for autonomous self-division of synthetic cells is a major goal of bottom-up synthetic biology. One paradigm has been the E. coli divisome, with the MinCDE protein system guiding assembly and positioning of a presumably contractile ring based on FtsZ and its membrane adaptor FtsA. Here, we demonstrate the full in vitro reconstitution of this machinery consisting of five proteins within lipid vesicles, allowing to observe the following sequence of events in real time: 1) Assembly of an isotropic filamentous FtsZ network, 2) its condensation into a ring-like structure, along with pole-to-pole mode selection of Min oscillations resulting in equatorial positioning, and 3) onset of ring constriction, deforming the vesicles from spherical shape. Besides demonstrating these essential features, we highlight the importance of decisive experimental factors, such as macromolecular crowding. Our results provide an exceptional showcase of the emergence of cell division in a minimal system, and may represent a step towards developing a synthetic cell.
Collapse
|
15
|
Li C, Zhang X, Dong M, Han X. Progress on Crowding Effect in Cell-like Structures. MEMBRANES 2022; 12:membranes12060593. [PMID: 35736300 PMCID: PMC9228500 DOI: 10.3390/membranes12060593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Several biological macromolecules, such as proteins, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides, occupy about 30% of the space in cells, resulting in a crowded macromolecule environment. The crowding effect within cells exerts an impact on the functions of biological components, the assembly behavior of biomacromolecules, and the thermodynamics and kinetics of metabolic reactions. Cell-like structures provide confined and independent compartments for studying the working mechanisms of cells, which can be used to study the physiological functions arising from the crowding effect of macromolecules in cells. This article mainly summarizes the progress of research on the macromolecular crowding effects in cell-like structures. It includes the effects of this crowding on actin assembly behavior, tubulin aggregation behavior, and gene expression. The challenges and future trends in this field are presented at the end of the paper.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Da-Zhi Street, Harbin 150001, China; (C.L.); (X.Z.)
| | - Xiangxiang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Da-Zhi Street, Harbin 150001, China; (C.L.); (X.Z.)
| | - Mingdong Dong
- Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
- Correspondence: (M.D.); (X.H.)
| | - Xiaojun Han
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Da-Zhi Street, Harbin 150001, China; (C.L.); (X.Z.)
- Correspondence: (M.D.); (X.H.)
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Rivas G, Minton A. Influence of Nonspecific Interactions on Protein Associations: Implications for Biochemistry In Vivo. Annu Rev Biochem 2022; 91:321-351. [PMID: 35287477 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biochem-040320-104151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The cellular interior is composed of a variety of microenvironments defined by distinct local compositions and composition-dependent intermolecular interactions. We review the various types of nonspecific interactions between proteins and between proteins and other macromolecules and supramolecular structures that influence the state of association and functional properties of a given protein existing within a particular microenvironment at a particular point in time. The present state of knowledge is summarized, and suggestions for fruitful directions of research are offered. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biochemistry, Volume 91 is June 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Germán Rivas
- Department of Structural and Chemical Biology, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain;
| | - Allen Minton
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Genetics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA;
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Higher-order structure of DNA determines its positioning in cell-size droplets under crowded conditions. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0261736. [PMID: 34937071 PMCID: PMC8694483 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background It is becoming clearer that living cells use water/water (w/w) phase separation to form membraneless organelles that exhibit various important biological functions. Currently, it is believed that the specific localization of biomacromolecules, including DNA, RNA and proteins in w/w microdroplets is closely related to their bio-activity. Despite the importance of this possible role of micro segregation, our understanding of the underlying physico-chemical mechanism is still unrefined. Further research to unveil the underlying mechanism of the localization of macromolecules in relation to their steric conformation in w/w microdroplets is needed. Principal findings Single-DNA observation of genome-size DNA (T4 GT7 bacteriophage DNA; 166kbp) by fluorescence microscopy revealed that DNAs are spontaneously incorporated into w/w microdroplets generated in a binary aqueous polymer solution with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and dextran (DEX). Interestingly, DNAs with elongated coil and shrunken conformations exhibit Brownian fluctuation inside the droplet. On the other hand, tightly packed compact globules, as well as assemblies of multiple condensed DNAs, tend to be located near the interface in the droplet. Conclusion and significance The specific localization of DNA molecules depending on their higher-order structure occurs in w/w microdroplet phase-separation solution under a binary aqueous polymer solution. Such an aqueous solution with polymers mimics the crowded conditions in living cells, where aqueous macromolecules exist at a level of 30–40 weight %. The specific positioning of DNA depending on its higher-order structure in w/w microdroplets is expected to provide novel insights into the mechanism and function of membraneless organelles and micro-segregated particles in living cells.
Collapse
|
18
|
Tonti L, García Daza FA, Patti A. Diffusion of globular macromolecules in liquid crystals of colloidal cuboids. J Mol Liq 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2021.116640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
19
|
Feng F, Lei T, Zhao N. Tunable depletion force in active and crowded environments. Phys Rev E 2021; 103:022604. [PMID: 33736064 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.103.022604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
We adopt two-dimensional Langevin dynamics simulations to study the effective interactions between two passive colloids in a bath crowded with active particles. We mainly pay attention to the significant effects of active particle size, crowding-activity coupling, and chirality. First, a transition of depletion force from repulsion to attraction is revealed by varying particle size. Moreover, larger active crowders with sufficient activity can generate strong attractive force, which is in contrast to the cage effect in passive media. It is interesting that the attraction induced by large active crowders follows a linear scaling with the persistence length of active particles. Second, the effective force also experiences a transition from repulsion to attraction as volume fraction increases, as a consequence of the competition between the two contrastive factors of activity and crowding. As bath volume fraction is relatively small, activity generates a dominant repulsion force, while as the bath becomes concentrated, crowding-induced attraction becomes overwhelming. Lastly, in a chiral bath, we observe a very surprising oscillation phenomenon of active depletion force, showing an evident quasiperiodic variation with increasing chirality. Aggregation of active particles in the vicinity of the colloids is carefully examined, which serves as a reasonable picture for our observations. Our findings provide an inspiring strategy for the tunable active depletion force by crowding, activity, and chirality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fane Feng
- Department of Physical Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
| | - Ting Lei
- Department of Physical Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
| | - Nanrong Zhao
- Department of Physical Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Wang X, Du H, Wang Z, Mu W, Han X. Versatile Phospholipid Assemblies for Functional Synthetic Cells and Artificial Tissues. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2021; 33:e2002635. [PMID: 32830387 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202002635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The bottom-up construction of a synthetic cell from nonliving building blocks capable of mimicking cellular properties and behaviors helps to understand the particular biophysical properties and working mechanisms of a cell. A synthetic cell built in this way possesses defined chemical composition and structure. Since phospholipids are native biomembrane components, their assemblies are widely used to mimic cellular structures. Here, recent developments in the formation of versatile phospholipid assemblies are described, together with the applications of these assemblies for functional membranes (protein reconstituted giant unilamellar vesicles), spherical and nonspherical protoorganelles, and functional synthetic cells, as well as the high-order hierarchical structures of artificial tissues. Their biomedical applications are also briefly summarized. Finally, the challenges and future directions in the field of synthetic cells and artificial tissues based on phospholipid assemblies are proposed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xuejing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Hang Du
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
- Marine Antifouling Engineering Technology Center of Shangdong Province, Harbin Institute of Technology, Weihai, 264209, China
| | - Zhao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Wei Mu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Xiaojun Han
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Pittas T, Zuo W, Boersma AJ. Engineering crowding sensitivity into protein linkers. Methods Enzymol 2020; 647:51-81. [PMID: 33482994 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2020.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The intracellular environment contains a high concentration of biomacromolecules that present steric barriers and ample surface area for weak chemical interactions. Consequently, these forces influence protein conformations and protein self-assembly, with an outcome that depends on the sum of the effects resulting from crowding. Linkers are disordered domains that lack tertiary structure, and this flexible nature would render them susceptible to compression or extension under crowded conditions, compared to the equilibrium conformation in a dilute buffer. The change in distance between the linked proteins can become essential where it attenuates protein activity. In this chapter, we first discuss the experimental findings in vitro and in the cell on how linkers and other relevant macromolecules are affected by crowding. We focus on the dependence on the linker's size, flexibility, and the intra- and intermolecular interactions. Although the experimental data on the systematic variation of proteins in a buffer and cells is limited, extrapolating the available insights allows us to propose a protocol on how to engineer the directionality of crowding effects in the linker. Finally, we describe a straightforward experimental protocol on the determination of crowding sensitivity in a buffer and cell.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Theodoros Pittas
- DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen, Germany; Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Weiyan Zuo
- DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen, Germany; Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Arnold J Boersma
- DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen, Germany; Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Vibhute MA, Schaap MH, Maas RJM, Nelissen FHT, Spruijt E, Heus HA, Hansen MMK, Huck WTS. Transcription and Translation in Cytomimetic Protocells Perform Most Efficiently at Distinct Macromolecular Crowding Conditions. ACS Synth Biol 2020; 9:2797-2807. [PMID: 32976714 PMCID: PMC7573978 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
![]()
The formation of
cytomimetic protocells that capture the physicochemical
aspects of living cells is an important goal in bottom-up synthetic
biology. Here, we recreated the crowded cytoplasm in liposome-based
protocells and studied the kinetics of cell-free gene expression in
these crowded containers. We found that diffusion of key components
is affected not only by macromolecular crowding but also by enzymatic
activity in the protocell. Surprisingly, size-dependent diffusion
in crowded conditions yielded two distinct maxima for protein synthesis,
reflecting the differential impact of crowding on transcription and
translation. Our experimental data show, for the first time, that
macromolecular crowding induces a switch from reaction to diffusion
control and that this switch depends on the sizes of the macromolecules
involved. These results highlight the need to control the physical
environment in the design of synthetic cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mahesh A. Vibhute
- Radboud University, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Mark H. Schaap
- Radboud University, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Roel J. M. Maas
- Radboud University, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Frank H. T. Nelissen
- Radboud University, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Evan Spruijt
- Radboud University, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Hans A. Heus
- Radboud University, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Maike M. K. Hansen
- Radboud University, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Wilhelm T. S. Huck
- Radboud University, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Minton AP. Water Loss in Aging Erythrocytes Provides a Clue to a General Mechanism of Cellular Senescence. Biophys J 2020; 119:2039-2044. [PMID: 33068538 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2020.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 09/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Experimental evidence for age-dependent loss of intracellular water content as a widespread concomitant of cellular senescence is reviewed. Quantitative models are presented, indicating that an age-dependent increase in macromolecular crowding resulting from water loss may be responsible for three observed phenomena: a general age-dependent loss of intracellular protein solubility, a delayed and rapid appearance of high molecular weight aggregates, and an age-dependent transfer of intracellular protein from dilute to concentrated or condensed phases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Allen P Minton
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Genetics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland.
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation in Crowded Environments. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21165908. [PMID: 32824618 PMCID: PMC7460619 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21165908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Biomolecular condensates play a key role in organizing cellular fluids such as the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. Most of these non-membranous organelles show liquid-like properties both in cells and when studied in vitro through liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) of purified proteins. In general, LLPS of proteins is known to be sensitive to variations in pH, temperature and ionic strength, but the role of crowding remains underappreciated. Several decades of research have shown that macromolecular crowding can have profound effects on protein interactions, folding and aggregation, and it must, by extension, also impact LLPS. However, the precise role of crowding in LLPS is far from trivial, as most condensate components have a disordered nature and exhibit multiple weak attractive interactions. Here, we discuss which factors determine the scope of LLPS in crowded environments, and we review the evidence for the impact of macromolecular crowding on phase boundaries, partitioning behavior and condensate properties. Based on a comparison of both in vivo and in vitro LLPS studies, we propose that phase separation in cells does not solely rely on attractive interactions, but shows important similarities to segregative phase separation.
Collapse
|
25
|
Löwe M, Kalacheva M, Boersma AJ, Kedrov A. The more the merrier: effects of macromolecular crowding on the structure and dynamics of biological membranes. FEBS J 2020; 287:5039-5067. [DOI: 10.1111/febs.15429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2020] [Revised: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maryna Löwe
- Synthetic Membrane Systems Institute of Biochemistry Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf Germany
| | | | | | - Alexej Kedrov
- Synthetic Membrane Systems Institute of Biochemistry Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf Germany
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Zhang Q, Bai Q, Zhu L, Hou T, Zhao J, Liang D. Macromolecular Crowding and Confinement Effect on the Growth of DNA Nanotubes in Dextran and Hyaluronic Acid Media. ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2019; 3:412-420. [DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.9b00892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Qiufen Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Qingwen Bai
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Lin Zhu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Tianhao Hou
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Jiang Zhao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Dehai Liang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Perez CP, Elmore DE, Radhakrishnan ML. Computationally Modeling Electrostatic Binding Energetics in a Crowded, Dynamic Environment: Physical Insights from a Peptide–DNA System. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:10718-10734. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b09478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
|
28
|
Cui M, Zhou X, Chen X, Zheng W, Bian L, Li Z, Zheng B. Rapid and room temperature detection of single nucleotide variation with enhanced discrimination by crowding assisted allele specific extension. Chem Commun (Camb) 2019; 55:12052-12055. [PMID: 31535680 DOI: 10.1039/c9cc06229g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
In this paper we report the kinetics based detection of single nucleotide variation (SNV) at room temperature by allele specific extension with different concentrations and types of crowding agents. In general, the crowding conditions enhanced the specificity in the detection of SNV.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miao Cui
- Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China. and Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zhou
- Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Xiaoyu Chen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Weihao Zheng
- School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China
| | - Liming Bian
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
| | - Zigang Li
- School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China
| | - Bo Zheng
- Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Kohyama S, Yoshinaga N, Yanagisawa M, Fujiwara K, Doi N. Cell-sized confinement controls generation and stability of a protein wave for spatiotemporal regulation in cells. eLife 2019; 8:e44591. [PMID: 31358115 PMCID: PMC6667215 DOI: 10.7554/elife.44591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The Min system, a system that determines the bacterial cell division plane, uses changes in the localization of proteins (a Min wave) that emerges by reaction-diffusion coupling. Although previous studies have shown that space sizes and boundaries modulate the shape and speed of Min waves, their effects on wave emergence were still elusive. Here, by using a microsized fully confined space to mimic live cells, we revealed that confinement changes the conditions for the emergence of Min waves. In the microsized space, an increased surface-to-volume ratio changed the localization efficiency of proteins on membranes, and therefore, suppression of the localization change was necessary for the stable generation of Min waves. Furthermore, we showed that the cell-sized space strictly limits parameters for wave emergence because confinement inhibits both the instability and excitability of the system. These results show that confinement of reaction-diffusion systems has the potential to control spatiotemporal patterns in live cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shunshi Kohyama
- Department of Biosciences and InformaticsKeio UniversityYokohamaJapan
| | - Natsuhiko Yoshinaga
- Mathematical Science Group, WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR)Tohoku University KatahiraSendaiJapan
- MathAM-OILAISTSendaiJapan
| | - Miho Yanagisawa
- Department of Basic Science, Komaba Institute for Science, Graduate School of Arts and SciencesThe University of TokyoTokyoJapan
| | - Kei Fujiwara
- Department of Biosciences and InformaticsKeio UniversityYokohamaJapan
| | - Nobuhide Doi
- Department of Biosciences and InformaticsKeio UniversityYokohamaJapan
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Owen MC, Gnutt D, Gao M, Wärmländer SKTS, Jarvet J, Gräslund A, Winter R, Ebbinghaus S, Strodel B. Effects of in vivo conditions on amyloid aggregation. Chem Soc Rev 2019; 48:3946-3996. [PMID: 31192324 DOI: 10.1039/c8cs00034d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
One of the grand challenges of biophysical chemistry is to understand the principles that govern protein misfolding and aggregation, which is a highly complex process that is sensitive to initial conditions, operates on a huge range of length- and timescales, and has products that range from protein dimers to macroscopic amyloid fibrils. Aberrant aggregation is associated with more than 25 diseases, which include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and type II diabetes. Amyloid aggregation has been extensively studied in the test tube, therefore under conditions that are far from physiological relevance. Hence, there is dire need to extend these investigations to in vivo conditions where amyloid formation is affected by a myriad of biochemical interactions. As a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases, these interactions need to be understood in detail to develop novel therapeutic interventions, as millions of people globally suffer from neurodegenerative disorders and type II diabetes. The aim of this review is to document the progress in the research on amyloid formation from a physicochemical perspective with a special focus on the physiological factors influencing the aggregation of the amyloid-β peptide, the islet amyloid polypeptide, α-synuclein, and the hungingtin protein.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael C Owen
- CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, Brno 625 00, Czech Republic
| | - David Gnutt
- Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, TU Braunschweig, Rebenring 56, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany and Lead Discovery Wuppertal, Bayer AG, 42096 Wuppertal, Germany
| | - Mimi Gao
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn Str. 4a, 44227 Dortmund, Germany and Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, R&D, Industriepark Höchst, 65926 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Sebastian K T S Wärmländer
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 16C, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jüri Jarvet
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 16C, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Astrid Gräslund
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 16C, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Roland Winter
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn Str. 4a, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
| | - Simon Ebbinghaus
- Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, TU Braunschweig, Rebenring 56, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Birgit Strodel
- Institute of Complex Systems: Structural Biochemistry, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 42525 Jülich, Germany. and Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Murade CU, Shubeita GT. A Molecular Sensor Reveals Differences in Macromolecular Crowding between the Cytoplasm and Nucleoplasm. ACS Sens 2019; 4:1835-1843. [PMID: 31250628 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.9b00569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
We describe a molecular sensor that reports, using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), on the degree of macromolecular crowding in different cellular compartments. The oligonucleotide-based sensor is sensitive to changes in the volume fraction of macromolecules over a wide range in vitro and, when introduced in cells, rapidly distributes and shows a striking contrast between the cytosol and the nucleus. This contrast can be modulated by osmotic stress or by using a number of drugs that alter chromatin organization within the nucleus. These findings suggest that the sensor can be used as a tool to probe chromosome organization. Further, our finding that the cell maintains different degrees of macromolecular crowding in the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm has implications on molecular mechanisms since crowding can alter protein conformations, binding rates, reaction kinetics, and therefore protein function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chandrashekhar U. Murade
- Physics Program, New York University Abu Dhabi, P.O. Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - George T. Shubeita
- Physics Program, New York University Abu Dhabi, P.O. Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Zhang Q, Zhu L, Hou T, Chang H, Bai Q, Zhao J, Liang D. Crowding and Confinement Effects in Different Polymer Concentration Regimes and Their Roles in Regulating the Growth of Nanotubes. Macromolecules 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b00240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Qiufen Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Lin Zhu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Tianhao Hou
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Haojing Chang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Qingwen Bai
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Jiang Zhao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Dehai Liang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Junker NO, Vaghefikia F, Albarghash A, Höfig H, Kempe D, Walter J, Otten J, Pohl M, Katranidis A, Wiegand S, Fitter J. Impact of Molecular Crowding on Translational Mobility and Conformational Properties of Biological Macromolecules. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:4477-4486. [PMID: 31059260 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b01239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Effects of molecular crowding on structural and dynamical properties of biological macromolecules do depend on the concentration of crowding agents but also on the molecular mass and the structural compactness of the crowder molecules. By employing fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), we investigated the translational mobility of several biological macromolecules ranging from 17 kDa to 2.7 MDa. Polyethylene glycol and Ficoll polymers of different molecular masses were used in buffer solutions to mimic a crowded environment. The reduction in translational mobility of the biological tracer molecules was analyzed as a function of crowder volume fractions and was generally more pronounced in PEG as compared to Ficoll solutions. For several crowding conditions, we observed a molecular sieving effect, in which the diffusion coefficient of larger tracer molecules is reduced to a larger extent than predicted by the Stokes-Einstein relation. By employing a FRET-based biosensor, we also showed that a multiprotein complex is significantly compacted in the presence of macromolecular crowders. Importantly, with respect to sensor in vivo applications, ligand concentration determining sensors would need a crowding specific calibration in order to deliver correct cytosolic ligand concentration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Niklas O Junker
- I. Physikalisches Institut (IA) , RWTH Aachen University , 52074 Aachen , Germany
| | - Farzaneh Vaghefikia
- I. Physikalisches Institut (IA) , RWTH Aachen University , 52074 Aachen , Germany
| | - Alyazan Albarghash
- I. Physikalisches Institut (IA) , RWTH Aachen University , 52074 Aachen , Germany
| | - Henning Höfig
- I. Physikalisches Institut (IA) , RWTH Aachen University , 52074 Aachen , Germany
| | - Daryan Kempe
- I. Physikalisches Institut (IA) , RWTH Aachen University , 52074 Aachen , Germany
| | - Julia Walter
- I. Physikalisches Institut (IA) , RWTH Aachen University , 52074 Aachen , Germany
| | | | | | | | - Simone Wiegand
- Physikalische Chemie , Universität zu Köln , 50923 Köln , Germany
| | - Jörg Fitter
- I. Physikalisches Institut (IA) , RWTH Aachen University , 52074 Aachen , Germany
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Single-Molecule Studies on a FRET Biosensor: Lessons from a Comparison of Fluorescent Protein Equipped versus Dye-Labeled Species. Molecules 2018; 23:molecules23123105. [PMID: 30486450 PMCID: PMC6320824 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23123105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 11/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial periplasmic binding proteins (PBPs) undergo a pronounced ligand-induced conformational change which can be employed to monitor ligand concentrations. The most common strategy to take advantage of this conformational change for a biosensor design is to use a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) signal. This can be achieved by attaching either two fluorescent proteins (FPs) or two organic fluorescent dyes of different colors to the PBPs in order to obtain an optical readout signal which is closely related to the ligand concentration. In this study we compare a FP-equipped and a dye-labeled version of the glucose/galactose binding protein MglB at the single-molecule level. The comparison demonstrates that changes in the FRET signal upon glucose binding are more pronounced for the FP-equipped sensor construct as compared to the dye-labeled analog. Moreover, the FP-equipped sensor showed a strong increase of the FRET signal under crowding conditions whereas the dye-labeled sensor was not influenced by crowding. The choice of a labeling scheme should therefore be made depending on the application of a FRET-based sensor.
Collapse
|
35
|
Liu B, Mavrova SN, van den Berg J, Kristensen SK, Mantovanelli L, Veenhoff LM, Poolman B, Boersma AJ. Influence of Fluorescent Protein Maturation on FRET Measurements in Living Cells. ACS Sens 2018; 3:1735-1742. [PMID: 30168711 PMCID: PMC6167724 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.8b00473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Förster resonance
energy transfer (FRET)-based sensors are
a valuable tool to quantify cell biology, yet it remains necessary
to identify and prevent potential artifacts in order to exploit their
full potential. We show here that artifacts arising from slow donor
mCerulean3 maturation can be substantially diminished by constitutive
expression in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, which can also
be achieved by incorporation of faster-maturing FRET donors. We developed
an improved version of the donor mTurquoise2 that matures faster than
the parent protein. Our analysis shows that using equal maturing fluorophores
in FRET-based sensors or using constitutive low expression conditions
helps to reduce maturation-induced artifacts, without the need of
additional noise-inducing spectral corrections. In general, we show
that monitoring and controlling the maturation of fluorescent proteins
in living cells is important and should be addressed in in
vivo applications of genetically encoded FRET sensors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Boqun Liu
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Sara N. Mavrova
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jonas van den Berg
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Sebastian K. Kristensen
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Luca Mantovanelli
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Liesbeth M. Veenhoff
- European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University of Groningen, University
Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Bert Poolman
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Arnold J. Boersma
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Kumar R, Sharma D, Kumar V, Kumar R. Factors defining the effects of macromolecular crowding on dynamics and thermodynamic stability of heme proteins in-vitro. Arch Biochem Biophys 2018; 654:146-162. [DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2018.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Revised: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
37
|
Höfig H, Otten J, Steffen V, Pohl M, Boersma AJ, Fitter J. Genetically Encoded Förster Resonance Energy Transfer-Based Biosensors Studied on the Single-Molecule Level. ACS Sens 2018; 3:1462-1470. [PMID: 29979038 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.8b00143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Genetically encoded Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based biosensors for the quantification of ligand molecules change the magnitude of FRET between two fluorescent proteins upon binding a target metabolite. When highly sensitive sensors are being designed, extensive sensor optimization is essential. However, it is often difficult to verify the ideas of modifications made to a sensor during the sensor optimization process because of the limited information content of ensemble FRET measurements. In contrast, single-molecule detection provides detailed information and higher accuracy. Here, we investigated a set of glucose and crowding sensors on the single-molecule level. We report the first comprehensive single-molecule study of FRET-based biosensors with reasonable counting statistics and identify characteristics in the single-molecule FRET histograms that constitute fingerprints of sensor performance. Hence, our single-molecule approach extends the toolbox of methods aiming to understand and optimize the design of FRET-based biosensors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Henning Höfig
- I. Physikalisches Institut (IA), RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany
- ICS-5: Molecular Biophysics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Julia Otten
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Victoria Steffen
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Martina Pohl
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Arnold J. Boersma
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, 9700 AB Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Jörg Fitter
- I. Physikalisches Institut (IA), RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany
- ICS-5: Molecular Biophysics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Fanalista F, Deshpande S, Lau A, Pawlik G, Dekker C. FtsZ-Induced Shape Transformation of Coacervates. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/adbi.201800136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Federico Fanalista
- Department of Bionanoscience; Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft; Delft University of Technology; Van der Maasweg 9 2629 HZ Delft The Netherlands
| | - Siddharth Deshpande
- Department of Bionanoscience; Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft; Delft University of Technology; Van der Maasweg 9 2629 HZ Delft The Netherlands
| | - Anson Lau
- Department of Bionanoscience; Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft; Delft University of Technology; Van der Maasweg 9 2629 HZ Delft The Netherlands
| | - Grzegorz Pawlik
- Department of Bionanoscience; Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft; Delft University of Technology; Van der Maasweg 9 2629 HZ Delft The Netherlands
| | - Cees Dekker
- Department of Bionanoscience; Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft; Delft University of Technology; Van der Maasweg 9 2629 HZ Delft The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Poudyal R, Cakmak FP, Keating CD, Bevilacqua PC. Physical Principles and Extant Biology Reveal Roles for RNA-Containing Membraneless Compartments in Origins of Life Chemistry. Biochemistry 2018; 57:2509-2519. [PMID: 29560725 PMCID: PMC7276092 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.8b00081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
This Perspective focuses on RNA in biological and nonbiological compartments resulting from liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), with an emphasis on origins of life. In extant cells, intracellular liquid condensates, many of which are rich in RNAs and intrinsically disordered proteins, provide spatial regulation of biomolecular interactions that can result in altered gene expression. Given the diversity of biogenic and abiogenic molecules that undergo LLPS, such membraneless compartments may have also played key roles in prebiotic chemistries relevant to the origins of life. The RNA World hypothesis posits that RNA may have served as both a genetic information carrier and a catalyst during the origin of life. Because of its polyanionic backbone, RNA can undergo LLPS by complex coacervation in the presence of polycations. Phase separation could provide a mechanism for concentrating monomers for RNA synthesis and selectively partition longer RNAs with enzymatic functions, thus driving prebiotic evolution. We introduce several types of LLPS that could lead to compartmentalization and discuss potential roles in template-mediated non-enzymatic polymerization of RNA and other related biomolecules, functions of ribozymes and aptamers, and benefits or penalties imparted by liquid demixing. We conclude that tiny liquid droplets may have concentrated precious biomolecules and acted as bioreactors in the RNA World.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Raghav Poudyal
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
- Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Fatma Pir Cakmak
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Christine D. Keating
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Philip C. Bevilacqua
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
- Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Furusato T, Horie F, Matsubayashi HT, Amikura K, Kuruma Y, Ueda T. De Novo Synthesis of Basal Bacterial Cell Division Proteins FtsZ, FtsA, and ZipA Inside Giant Vesicles. ACS Synth Biol 2018; 7:953-961. [PMID: 29510621 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.7b00350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Cell division is the most dynamic event in the cell cycle. Recently, efforts have been made to reconstruct it using the individual component proteins to obtain a better understanding of the process of self-reproduction of cells. However, such reconstruction studies are frequently hampered by difficulties in preparing membrane-associated proteins. Here we demonstrate a de novo synthesis approach based on a cell-free translation system. Genes for fundamental cell division proteins, FtsZ, FtsA, and ZipA, were expressed inside the lipid compartment of giant vesicles (GVs). The synthesized proteins showed polymerization, membrane localization, and eventually membrane deformation. Notably, we found that this morphological change of the vesicle is forced by only FtsZ and ZipA, which form clusters on the membrane at the vesicle interior. Our cell-free approach provides a platform for studying protein dynamics associated with lipid membrane and paves the way to create a synthetic cell that undergoes self-reproduction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Takumi Furusato
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bldg. FSB-401, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562, Japan
| | - Fumihiro Horie
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bldg. FSB-401, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562, Japan
| | - Hideaki T. Matsubayashi
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bldg. FSB-401, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562, Japan
| | - Kazuaki Amikura
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bldg. FSB-401, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562, Japan
| | - Yutetsu Kuruma
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Takuya Ueda
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bldg. FSB-401, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Marianelli AM, Miller BM, Keating CD. Impact of macromolecular crowding on RNA/spermine complex coacervation and oligonucleotide compartmentalization. SOFT MATTER 2018; 14:368-378. [PMID: 29265152 DOI: 10.1039/c7sm02146a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We report the effect of neutral macromolecular crowders poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) (8 kDa) and Ficoll (70 kDa) on liquid-liquid phase separation in a polyuridylic acid (polyU)/spermine complex coacervate system. The addition of PEG decreased both the amount of spermine required for phase separation and the coacervation temperature (TC). We interpret these effects on phase behavior as arising due to excluded volume and preferential interactions on both the secondary structure/condensation of spermine-associated polyU molecules and on the association of soluble polyU/spermine polyelectrolyte complexes to form coacervate droplets. Examination of coacervates formed in the presence of fluorescently-labeled PEG or Ficoll crowders indicated that Ficoll is accumulated while PEG is excluded from the coacervate phase, which provides further insight into the differences in phase behavior. Crowding agents impact distribution of a biomolecular solute: partitioning of a fluorescently-labeled U15 RNA oligomer into the polyU/spermine coacervates was increased approximately two-fold by 20 wt% Ficoll 70 kDa and by more than two orders of magnitude by 20 wt% PEG 8 kDa. The volume of the coacervate phase decreased in the presence of crowder relative to a dilute buffer solution. These findings indicate that potential impacts of macromolecular crowding on phase behavior and solute partitioning should be considered in model systems for intracellular membraneless organelles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A M Marianelli
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
42
|
Su WC, Gettel DL, Chabanon M, Rangamani P, Parikh AN. Pulsatile Gating of Giant Vesicles Containing Macromolecular Crowding Agents Induced by Colligative Nonideality. J Am Chem Soc 2018; 140:691-699. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b10192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Morgan Chabanon
- Department
of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Padmini Rangamani
- Department
of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | | |
Collapse
|
43
|
Liu B, Åberg C, van Eerden FJ, Marrink SJ, Poolman B, Boersma AJ. Design and Properties of Genetically Encoded Probes for Sensing Macromolecular Crowding. Biophys J 2017; 112:1929-1939. [PMID: 28494963 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2017.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2017] [Revised: 03/27/2017] [Accepted: 04/04/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Cells are highly crowded with proteins and polynucleotides. Any reaction that depends on the available volume can be affected by macromolecular crowding, but the effects of crowding in cells are complex and difficult to track. Here, we present a set of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based crowding-sensitive probes and investigate the role of the linker design. We investigate the sensors in vitro and in vivo and by molecular dynamics simulations. We find that in vitro all the probes can be compressed by crowding, with a magnitude that increases with the probe size, the crowder concentration, and the crowder size. We capture the role of the linker in a heuristic scaling model, and we find that compression is a function of size of the probe and volume fraction of the crowder. The FRET changes observed in Escherichia coli are more complicated, where FRET-increases and scaling behavior are observed solely with probes that contain the helices in the linker. The probe with the highest sensitivity to crowding in vivo yields the same macromolecular volume fractions as previously obtained from cell dry weight. The collection of new probes provides more detailed readouts on the macromolecular crowding than a single sensor.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Boqun Liu
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Christoffer Åberg
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Floris J van Eerden
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Siewert J Marrink
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Bert Poolman
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Arnold J Boersma
- Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Minton AP. Explicit Incorporation of Hard and Soft Protein-Protein Interactions into Models for Crowding Effects in Protein Mixtures. 2. Effects of Varying Hard and Soft Interactions upon Prototypical Chemical Equilibria. J Phys Chem B 2017; 121:5515-5522. [PMID: 28505444 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b02378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Previously derived approximate analytical relations for the activity coefficient of each solute in a mixture of up to three spherical solutes in a highly nonideal solution interacting via square well potentials of mean force (Hoppe, T.; Minton, A. P. J Phys Chem B. 2016, 120, 11866-11872) were used to explore the effect of heterogeneity in volume occupancy and intermolecular interactions upon prototypical schemes representing solubility, partitioning, conformational isomerization, and self-association in crowded solutions. Results generally indicate that all of the equilibria explored are exquisitely sensitive to variations in both volume occupancy and intermolecular interaction and have important implications for the design and execution of more detailed simulations of complex media.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Allen P Minton
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Genetics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Welfare , Bethesda, Maryland United States
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Ramisetty SK, Langlete P, Lale R, Dias RS. In vitro studies of DNA condensation by bridging protein in a crowding environment. Int J Biol Macromol 2017; 103:845-853. [PMID: 28536019 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2017.05.079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2016] [Revised: 05/02/2017] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The macromolecules of the bacterial cell occupy 20-40% of the total cytosol volume, and crowded environments have long been known to compact and stabilize DNA. Nevertheless, investigations on DNA-protein binding are generally performed in the absence of crowding, which may yield an incomplete understanding of how nucleoid-assembling proteins work. A family of such proteins, abundant in Gram-negative bacteria, is the histone-like nucleoid structuring proteins (H-NS). Herein, the synergistic role of macromolecular crowding (mimicked using polyethylene glycol, PEG) and H-NS was investigated using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and enzyme protection assays. We show that crowding enhances the binding of H-NS to the AT-rich tracks of the DNA, where it preferentially binds to, protecting these tracks towards enzyme digestion, inducing some DNA condensation, and inhibiting the biological function of DNA. We further suggest that the looping of DNA chains, induced by H-NS, contributes to the synergistic effect of DNA-binding protein and crowding agents, on DNA condensation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sravani K Ramisetty
- Biophysics and Medical Technology, Department of Physics, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Petter Langlete
- Biophysics and Medical Technology, Department of Physics, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Rahmi Lale
- Department of Biotechnology, PhotoSynLab, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Rita S Dias
- Biophysics and Medical Technology, Department of Physics, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway.
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
van den Berg J, Boersma AJ, Poolman B. Microorganisms maintain crowding homeostasis. Nat Rev Microbiol 2017; 15:309-318. [DOI: 10.1038/nrmicro.2017.17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
|
47
|
Munari F, Bortot A, Zanzoni S, D'Onofrio M, Fushman D, Assfalg M. Identification of primary and secondary UBA footprints on the surface of ubiquitin in cell-mimicking crowded solution. FEBS Lett 2017; 591:979-990. [PMID: 28267209 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.12615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2016] [Revised: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 02/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Despite significant advancements in our understanding of ubiquitin-mediated signaling, the influence of the intracellular environment on the formation of transient ubiquitin-partner complexes remains poorly explored. In our work, we introduce macromolecular crowding as a first level of complexity toward the imitation of a cellular environment in the study of such interactions. Using NMR spectroscopy, we find that the stereospecific complex of ubiquitin and the ubiquitin-associated domain (UBA) is minimally perturbed by the crowding agent Ficoll. However, in addition to the primary canonical recognition patch on ubiquitin, secondary patches are identified, indicating that in cell-mimicking crowded solution, UBA contacts ubiquitin at multiple sites.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea Bortot
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Italy
| | - Serena Zanzoni
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Italy
| | | | - David Fushman
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
48
|
Zieske K, Chwastek G, Schwille P. Protein Patterns and Oscillations on Lipid Monolayers and in Microdroplets. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2016; 55:13455-13459. [PMID: 27465495 PMCID: PMC5113663 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201606069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The Min proteins from E.coli position the bacterial cell-division machinery through pole-to-pole oscillations. In vitro, Min protein self-organization can be reconstituted in the presence of a lipid membrane as a catalytic surface. However, Min dynamics have so far not been reconstituted in fully membrane-enclosed volumes. Microdroplets interfaced by lipid monolayers were employed as a simple 3D mimic of cellular compartments to reconstitute Min protein oscillations. We demonstrate that lipid monolayers are sufficient to fulfil the catalytic role of the membrane and thus represent a facile platform to investigate Min protein regulated dynamics of the cell-division protein FtsZ-mts. In particular, we show that droplet containers reveal distinct Min oscillation modes, and reveal a dependence of FtsZ-mts structures on compartment size. Finally, co-reconstitution of Min proteins and FtsZ-mts in droplets yields antagonistic localization, thus demonstrating that droplets indeed support the analysis of complex bacterial self-organization in confined volumes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katja Zieske
- Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, 82152, Martinsried, Germany
- Developmental Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Grzegorz Chwastek
- Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, 82152, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Petra Schwille
- Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, 82152, Martinsried, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Rivas G, Minton AP. Macromolecular Crowding In Vitro, In Vivo, and In Between. Trends Biochem Sci 2016; 41:970-981. [PMID: 27669651 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2016.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 308] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2016] [Revised: 08/18/2016] [Accepted: 08/22/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Biochemical processes take place in heterogeneous and highly volume-occupied or crowded environments that can considerably influence the reactivity and distribution of participating macromolecules. We summarize here the thermodynamic consequences of excluded-volume and long-range nonspecific intermolecular interactions for macromolecular reactions in volume-occupied media. In addition, we summarize and compare the information content of studies of crowding in vitro and in vivo. We emphasize the importance of characterizing the behavior not only of labeled tracer macromolecules but also the composition and behavior of unlabeled macromolecules in the immediate vicinity of the tracer. Finally, we propose strategies for extending quantitative analyses of crowding in simple model systems to increasingly complex media up to and including intact cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Germán Rivas
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Allen P Minton
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Genetics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Pérez Santero S, Favretto F, Zanzoni S, Chignola R, Assfalg M, D'Onofrio M. Effects of macromolecular crowding on a small lipid binding protein probed at the single-amino acid level. Arch Biochem Biophys 2016; 606:99-110. [DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2016.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2016] [Revised: 07/16/2016] [Accepted: 07/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|