1
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Ghosh D, Biswas A, Radhakrishna M. Advanced computational approaches to understand protein aggregation. BIOPHYSICS REVIEWS 2024; 5:021302. [PMID: 38681860 PMCID: PMC11045254 DOI: 10.1063/5.0180691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Protein aggregation is a widespread phenomenon implicated in debilitating diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and cataracts, presenting complex hurdles for the field of molecular biology. In this review, we explore the evolving realm of computational methods and bioinformatics tools that have revolutionized our comprehension of protein aggregation. Beginning with a discussion of the multifaceted challenges associated with understanding this process and emphasizing the critical need for precise predictive tools, we highlight how computational techniques have become indispensable for understanding protein aggregation. We focus on molecular simulations, notably molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, spanning from atomistic to coarse-grained levels, which have emerged as pivotal tools in unraveling the complex dynamics governing protein aggregation in diseases such as cataracts, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. MD simulations provide microscopic insights into protein interactions and the subtleties of aggregation pathways, with advanced techniques like replica exchange molecular dynamics, Metadynamics (MetaD), and umbrella sampling enhancing our understanding by probing intricate energy landscapes and transition states. We delve into specific applications of MD simulations, elucidating the chaperone mechanism underlying cataract formation using Markov state modeling and the intricate pathways and interactions driving the toxic aggregate formation in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Transitioning we highlight how computational techniques, including bioinformatics, sequence analysis, structural data, machine learning algorithms, and artificial intelligence have become indispensable for predicting protein aggregation propensity and locating aggregation-prone regions within protein sequences. Throughout our exploration, we underscore the symbiotic relationship between computational approaches and empirical data, which has paved the way for potential therapeutic strategies against protein aggregation-related diseases. In conclusion, this review offers a comprehensive overview of advanced computational methodologies and bioinformatics tools that have catalyzed breakthroughs in unraveling the molecular basis of protein aggregation, with significant implications for clinical interventions, standing at the intersection of computational biology and experimental research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepshikha Ghosh
- Department of Biological Sciences and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gujarat 382355, India
| | - Anushka Biswas
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gujarat 382355, India
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Liang Q, Peng N, Xie Y, Kumar N, Gao W, Miao Y. MolPhase, an advanced prediction algorithm for protein phase separation. EMBO J 2024; 43:1898-1918. [PMID: 38565952 PMCID: PMC11065880 DOI: 10.1038/s44318-024-00090-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
We introduce MolPhase, an advanced algorithm for predicting protein phase separation (PS) behavior that improves accuracy and reliability by utilizing diverse physicochemical features and extensive experimental datasets. MolPhase applies a user-friendly interface to compare distinct biophysical features side-by-side along protein sequences. By additional comparison with structural predictions, MolPhase enables efficient predictions of new phase-separating proteins and guides hypothesis generation and experimental design. Key contributing factors underlying MolPhase include electrostatic pi-interactions, disorder, and prion-like domains. As an example, MolPhase finds that phytobacterial type III effectors (T3Es) are highly prone to homotypic PS, which was experimentally validated in vitro biochemically and in vivo in plants, mimicking their injection and accumulation in the host during microbial infection. The physicochemical characteristics of T3Es dictate their patterns of association for multivalent interactions, influencing the material properties of phase-separating droplets based on the surrounding microenvironment in vivo or in vitro. Robust integration of MolPhase's effective prediction and experimental validation exhibit the potential to evaluate and explore how biomolecule PS functions in biological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiyu Liang
- School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 637371, Singapore, Singapore
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 637551, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nana Peng
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 637551, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yi Xie
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 637551, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nivedita Kumar
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 637551, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Weibo Gao
- School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 637371, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yansong Miao
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 637551, Singapore, Singapore.
- Institute for Digital Molecular Analytics and Science, Nanyang Technological University, 636921, Singapore, Singapore.
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3
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Chin KY, Ishida S, Sasaki Y, Terayama K. Predicting condensate formation of protein and RNA under various environmental conditions. BMC Bioinformatics 2024; 25:143. [PMID: 38566033 PMCID: PMC10988968 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-024-05764-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) by biomolecules plays a central role in various biological phenomena and has garnered significant attention. The behavior of LLPS is strongly influenced by the characteristics of RNAs and environmental factors such as pH and temperature, as well as the properties of proteins. Recently, several databases recording LLPS-related biomolecules have been established, and prediction models of LLPS-related phenomena have been explored using these databases. However, a prediction model that concurrently considers proteins, RNAs, and experimental conditions has not been developed due to the limited information available from individual experiments in public databases. RESULTS To address this challenge, we have constructed a new dataset, RNAPSEC, which serves each experiment as a data point. This dataset was accomplished by manually collecting data from public literature. Utilizing RNAPSEC, we developed two prediction models that consider a protein, RNA, and experimental conditions. The first model can predict the LLPS behavior of a protein and RNA under given experimental conditions. The second model can predict the required conditions for a given protein and RNA to undergo LLPS. CONCLUSIONS RNAPSEC and these prediction models are expected to accelerate our understanding of the roles of proteins, RNAs, and environmental factors in LLPS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ka Yin Chin
- Graduate School of Medical Life Science, Yokohama City University, 1-7-29, Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Shoichi Ishida
- Graduate School of Medical Life Science, Yokohama City University, 1-7-29, Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Yukio Sasaki
- Graduate School of Medical Life Science, Yokohama City University, 1-7-29, Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Kei Terayama
- Graduate School of Medical Life Science, Yokohama City University, 1-7-29, Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan.
- RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, 1-4-1, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-0027, Japan.
- MDX Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 226-8501, Japan.
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4
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Li P, Chen P, Qi F, Shi J, Zhu W, Li J, Zhang P, Xie H, Li L, Lei M, Ren X, Wang W, Zhang L, Xiang X, Zhang Y, Gao Z, Feng X, Du W, Liu X, Xia L, Liu BF, Li Y. High-throughput and proteome-wide discovery of endogenous biomolecular condensates. Nat Chem 2024:10.1038/s41557-024-01485-1. [PMID: 38499848 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-024-01485-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Phase separation inside mammalian cells regulates the formation of the biomolecular condensates that are related to gene expression, signalling, development and disease. However, a large population of endogenous condensates and their candidate phase-separating proteins have yet to be discovered in a quantitative and high-throughput manner. Here we demonstrate that endogenously expressed biomolecular condensates can be identified across a cell's proteome by sorting proteins across varying oligomeric states. We employ volumetric compression to modulate the concentrations of intracellular proteins and the degree of crowdedness, which are physical regulators of cellular biomolecular condensates. The changes in degree of the partition of proteins into condensates or phase separation led to varying oligomeric states of the proteins, which can be detected by coupling density gradient ultracentrifugation and quantitative mass spectrometry. In total, we identified 1,518 endogenous condensate proteins, of which 538 have not been reported before. Furthermore, we demonstrate that our strategy can identify condensate proteins that respond to specific biological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengjie Li
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Peng Chen
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Fukang Qi
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Jinyun Shi
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Wenjie Zhu
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Jiashuo Li
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Han Xie
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Lina Li
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Mengcheng Lei
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Xueqing Ren
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Wenhui Wang
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Liang Zhang
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Xufu Xiang
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Yiwei Zhang
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Zhaolong Gao
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Xiaojun Feng
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Wei Du
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Xin Liu
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Limin Xia
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Institute of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Bi-Feng Liu
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
| | - Yiwei Li
- The Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics of MOE at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics - Hubei Bioinformatics and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
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5
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Hou S, Hu J, Yu Z, Li D, Liu C, Zhang Y. Machine learning predictor PSPire screens for phase-separating proteins lacking intrinsically disordered regions. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2147. [PMID: 38459060 PMCID: PMC10923898 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46445-y] [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: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The burgeoning comprehension of protein phase separation (PS) has ushered in a wealth of bioinformatics tools for the prediction of phase-separating proteins (PSPs). These tools often skew towards PSPs with a high content of intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), thus frequently undervaluing potential PSPs without IDRs. Nonetheless, PS is not only steered by IDRs but also by the structured modular domains and interactions that aren't necessarily reflected in amino acid sequences. In this work, we introduce PSPire, a machine learning predictor that incorporates both residue-level and structure-level features for the precise prediction of PSPs. Compared to current PSP predictors, PSPire shows a notable improvement in identifying PSPs without IDRs, which underscores the crucial role of non-IDR, structure-based characteristics in multivalent interactions throughout the PS process. Additionally, our biological validation experiments substantiate the predictive capacity of PSPire, with 9 out of 11 chosen candidate PSPs confirmed to form condensates within cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuang Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Cardiology and Medical Innovation Center, Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai East Hospital, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Signaling and Disease Research, Frontier Science Center for Stem Cell Research, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Jiaojiao Hu
- Interdisciplinary Research Center on Biology and Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201210, China
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Zhaowei Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Cardiology and Medical Innovation Center, Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai East Hospital, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Signaling and Disease Research, Frontier Science Center for Stem Cell Research, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Dan Li
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Zhangjiang Institute for Advanced Study, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Cong Liu
- Interdisciplinary Research Center on Biology and Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201210, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
| | - Yong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cardiology and Medical Innovation Center, Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai East Hospital, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Signaling and Disease Research, Frontier Science Center for Stem Cell Research, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
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6
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Keber FC, Nguyen T, Mariossi A, Brangwynne CP, Wühr M. Evidence for widespread cytoplasmic structuring into mesoscale condensates. Nat Cell Biol 2024; 26:346-352. [PMID: 38424273 PMCID: PMC10981939 DOI: 10.1038/s41556-024-01363-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Compartmentalization is an essential feature of eukaryotic life and is achieved both via membrane-bound organelles, such as mitochondria, and membrane-less biomolecular condensates, such as the nucleolus. Known biomolecular condensates typically exhibit liquid-like properties and are visualized by microscopy on the scale of ~1 µm (refs. 1,2). They have been studied mostly by microscopy, examining select individual proteins. So far, several dozen biomolecular condensates are known, serving a multitude of functions, for example, in the regulation of transcription3, RNA processing4 or signalling5,6, and their malfunction can cause diseases7,8. However, it remains unclear to what extent biomolecular condensates are utilized in cellular organization and at what length scale they typically form. Here we examine native cytoplasm from Xenopus egg extract on a global scale with quantitative proteomics, filtration, size exclusion and dilution experiments. These assays reveal that at least 18% of the proteome is organized into mesoscale biomolecular condensates at the scale of ~100 nm and appear to be stabilized by RNA or gelation. We confirmed mesoscale sizes via imaging below the diffraction limit by investigating protein permeation into porous substrates with defined pore sizes. Our results show that eukaryotic cytoplasm organizes extensively via biomolecular condensates, but at surprisingly short length scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix C Keber
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Thao Nguyen
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Andrea Mariossi
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Clifford P Brangwynne
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
- Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
| | - Martin Wühr
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
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7
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Fu Q, Zhang B, Chen X, Chu L. Liquid-liquid phase separation in Alzheimer's disease. J Mol Med (Berl) 2024; 102:167-181. [PMID: 38167731 DOI: 10.1007/s00109-023-02407-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
The pathological aggregation and misfolding of tau and amyloid-β play a key role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the underlying pathological mechanisms remain unclear. Emerging evidences indicate that liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) has great impacts on regulating human health and diseases, especially neurodegenerative diseases. A series of studies have revealed the significance of LLPS in AD. In this review, we summarize the latest progress of LLPS in AD, focusing on the impact of metal ions, small-molecule inhibitors, and proteinaceous partners on tau LLPS and aggregation, as well as toxic oligomerization, the role of LLPS on amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregation, and the cross-interactions between amyloidogenic proteins in AD. Eventually, the fundamental methods and techniques used in LLPS study are introduced. We expect to present readers a deeper understanding of the relationship between LLPS and AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinggang Fu
- Hepatic Surgery Center and Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreatic-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China
| | - Bixiang Zhang
- Hepatic Surgery Center and Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreatic-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China
| | - Xiaoping Chen
- Hepatic Surgery Center and Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreatic-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China
| | - Liang Chu
- Hepatic Surgery Center and Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreatic-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China.
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8
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Orti F, Fernández ML, Marino‐Buslje C. MLOsMetaDB, a meta-database to centralize the information on liquid-liquid phase separation proteins and membraneless organelles. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e4858. [PMID: 38063081 PMCID: PMC10751725 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
Over the past few years, there has been a focus on proteins that create separate liquid phases in the intracellular liquid environment, known as membraneless organelles (MLOs). These organelles allow for the spatiotemporal associations of macromolecules that dynamically exchange within the cellular milieu. They provide a form of compartmentalization crucial for organizing key functions in many cells. Metabolic processes and signaling pathways in both the cytoplasm and nucleus are among the functions performed by MLOs, which are facilitated by diverse combinations of proteins and nucleic acids. However, disruptions in these liquid-liquid phase separation processes (LLPS) may lead to several diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders and cancer, among others. To foster the study of this process and MLO function, we present MLOsMetaDB (http://mlos.leloir.org.ar), a comprehensive resource of information on MLO- and LLPS-related proteins. Our database integrates and centralizes available information for every protein involved in MLOs, which is otherwise disseminated across a plethora of different databases. Our manuscript outlines the development and features of MLOsMetaDB, which provides an interactive and user-friendly environment with modern biological visualizations and easy and quick access to proteins based on LLPS role, MLO location, and organisms. In addition, it offers an advanced search for making complex queries to generate customized information. Furthermore, MLOsMetaDB provides evolutionary information by collecting the orthologs of every protein in the same database. Overall, MLOsMetaDB is a valuable resource as a starting point for researchers studying the many processes driven by LLPS proteins and membraneless organelles.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - María Laura Fernández
- Instituto de física interdisciplinaria y aplicada (IFNIA)Universidad de Buenos AiresArgentina
- Dto. de Física. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesUniversidad de Buenos AiresArgentina
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9
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Isozumi N, Sugie K, Mori E. [Biological phase separation in neuromuscular diseases]. Rinsho Shinkeigaku 2023; 63:799-805. [PMID: 37989290 DOI: 10.5692/clinicalneurol.cn-001877] [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] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
Biological phase separation refers to the liquid-liquid phase separation of biomolecules such as proteins in cells. Phase separation is driven by low-complexity domains of phase-separating proteins and strictly controlled by regulatory factors. Phase separation has also been found to be disrupted by genetic abnormalities. Abnormal aggregates of causative proteins accumulate in many neuromuscular diseases. In recent years, it has become clear that phase separating proteins are associated with neuromuscular diseases, and that abnormalities in the regulation of phase separation leads to the formation of aggregates. Gains in our knowledge of biological phase separation is gradually elucidating the pathogenesis of neuromuscular diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kazuma Sugie
- Department of Neurology, Nara Medical University
| | - Eiichiro Mori
- Department of Future Basic Medicine, Nara Medical University
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10
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Zheng LW, Liu CC, Yu KD. Phase separations in oncogenesis, tumor progressions and metastasis: a glance from hallmarks of cancer. J Hematol Oncol 2023; 16:123. [PMID: 38110976 PMCID: PMC10726551 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-023-01522-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a novel principle for interpreting precise spatiotemporal coordination in living cells through biomolecular condensate (BMC) formation via dynamic aggregation. LLPS changes individual molecules into membrane-free, droplet-like BMCs with specific functions, which coordinate various cellular activities. The formation and regulation of LLPS are closely associated with oncogenesis, tumor progressions and metastasis, the specific roles and mechanisms of LLPS in tumors still need to be further investigated at present. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the conditions of LLPS and identify mechanisms involved in abnormal LLPS in cancer processes, including tumor growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis from the perspective of cancer hallmarks. We have also reviewed the clinical applications of LLPS in oncologic areas. This systematic summary of dysregulated LLPS from the different dimensions of cancer hallmarks will build a bridge for determining its specific functions to further guide basic research, finding strategies to intervene in LLPS, and developing relevant therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le-Wei Zheng
- Department of Breast Surgery, Department of Oncology, Key Laboratory of Breast Cancer in Shanghai, Cancer Institute, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Cui-Cui Liu
- Department of Breast Surgery, Department of Oncology, Key Laboratory of Breast Cancer in Shanghai, Cancer Institute, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Ke-Da Yu
- Department of Breast Surgery, Department of Oncology, Key Laboratory of Breast Cancer in Shanghai, Cancer Institute, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
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11
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Sofi S, Coverley D. CIZ1 in Xist seeded assemblies at the inactive X chromosome. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1296600. [PMID: 38155839 PMCID: PMC10753822 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1296600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
There is growing evidence that X-chromosome inactivation is driven by phase-separated supramolecular assemblies. However, among the many proteins recruited to the inactive X chromosome by Xist long non-coding RNA, so far only a minority (CIZ1, CELF1, SPEN, TDP-43, MATR3, PTBP1, PCGF5) have been shown to form Xist-seeded protein assemblies, and of these most have not been analyzed in detail. With focus on CIZ1, here we describe 1) the contribution of intrinsically disordered regions in RNA-dependent protein assembly formation at the inactive X chromosome, and 2) enrichment, distribution, and function of proteins within Xist-seeded assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sajad Sofi
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Dawn Coverley
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
- York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, United Kingdom
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12
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Kurgan L, Hu G, Wang K, Ghadermarzi S, Zhao B, Malhis N, Erdős G, Gsponer J, Uversky VN, Dosztányi Z. Tutorial: a guide for the selection of fast and accurate computational tools for the prediction of intrinsic disorder in proteins. Nat Protoc 2023; 18:3157-3172. [PMID: 37740110 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-023-00876-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Intrinsic disorder is instrumental for a wide range of protein functions, and its analysis, using computational predictions from primary structures, complements secondary and tertiary structure-based approaches. In this Tutorial, we provide an overview and comparison of 23 publicly available computational tools with complementary parameters useful for intrinsic disorder prediction, partly relying on results from the Critical Assessment of protein Intrinsic Disorder prediction experiment. We consider factors such as accuracy, runtime, availability and the need for functional insights. The selected tools are available as web servers and downloadable programs, offer state-of-the-art predictions and can be used in a high-throughput manner. We provide examples and instructions for the selected tools to illustrate practical aspects related to the submission, collection and interpretation of predictions, as well as the timing and their limitations. We highlight two predictors for intrinsically disordered proteins, flDPnn as accurate and fast and IUPred as very fast and moderately accurate, while suggesting ANCHOR2 and MoRFchibi as two of the best-performing predictors for intrinsically disordered region binding. We link these tools to additional resources, including databases of predictions and web servers that integrate multiple predictive methods. Altogether, this Tutorial provides a hands-on guide to comparatively evaluating multiple predictors, submitting and collecting their own predictions, and reading and interpreting results. It is suitable for experimentalists and computational biologists interested in accurately and conveniently identifying intrinsic disorder, facilitating the functional characterization of the rapidly growing collections of protein sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukasz Kurgan
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
| | - Gang Hu
- School of Statistics and Data Science, LPMC and KLMDASR, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Kui Wang
- School of Statistics and Data Science, LPMC and KLMDASR, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Sina Ghadermarzi
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Bi Zhao
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Nawar Malhis
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Gábor Erdős
- MTA-ELTE Momentum Bioinformatics Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Jörg Gsponer
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
- Byrd Alzheimer's Center and Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
| | - Zsuzsanna Dosztányi
- MTA-ELTE Momentum Bioinformatics Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
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13
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Tripathi S, Shirnekhi HK, Gorman SD, Chandra B, Baggett DW, Park CG, Somjee R, Lang B, Hosseini SMH, Pioso BJ, Li Y, Iacobucci I, Gao Q, Edmonson MN, Rice SV, Zhou X, Bollinger J, Mitrea DM, White MR, McGrail DJ, Jarosz DF, Yi SS, Babu MM, Mullighan CG, Zhang J, Sahni N, Kriwacki RW. Defining the condensate landscape of fusion oncoproteins. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6008. [PMID: 37770423 PMCID: PMC10539325 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41655-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Fusion oncoproteins (FOs) arise from chromosomal translocations in ~17% of cancers and are often oncogenic drivers. Although some FOs can promote oncogenesis by undergoing liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) to form aberrant biomolecular condensates, the generality of this phenomenon is unknown. We explored this question by testing 166 FOs in HeLa cells and found that 58% formed condensates. The condensate-forming FOs displayed physicochemical features distinct from those of condensate-negative FOs and segregated into distinct feature-based groups that aligned with their sub-cellular localization and biological function. Using Machine Learning, we developed a predictor of FO condensation behavior, and discovered that 67% of ~3000 additional FOs likely form condensates, with 35% of those predicted to function by altering gene expression. 47% of the predicted condensate-negative FOs were associated with cell signaling functions, suggesting a functional dichotomy between condensate-positive and -negative FOs. Our Datasets and reagents are rich resources to interrogate FO condensation in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swarnendu Tripathi
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Hazheen K Shirnekhi
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Scott D Gorman
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
- Arrakis Therapeutics, 830 Winter St, Waltham, MA, 02451, USA
| | - Bappaditya Chandra
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - David W Baggett
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Cheon-Gil Park
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Ramiz Somjee
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
- Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, USA
- Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Benjamin Lang
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
- Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery, Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Seyed Mohammad Hadi Hosseini
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
- Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery, Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Brittany J Pioso
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Yongsheng Li
- Livestrong Cancer Institutes, Department of Oncology, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Ilaria Iacobucci
- Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Qingsong Gao
- Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Michael N Edmonson
- Department of Computational Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Stephen V Rice
- Department of Computational Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Xin Zhou
- Department of Computational Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - John Bollinger
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Diana M Mitrea
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
- Dewpoint Therapeutics, 451 D Street, Suite 104, Boston, MA, 02210, USA
| | - Michael R White
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
- IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., One IDEXX Drive, Westbrook, ME, 04092, USA
| | - Daniel J McGrail
- Center for Immunotherapy and Precision Immuno-Oncology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Daniel F Jarosz
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - S Stephen Yi
- Livestrong Cancer Institutes, Department of Oncology, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - M Madan Babu
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
- Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery, Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Charles G Mullighan
- Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Jinghui Zhang
- Department of Computational Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Nidhi Sahni
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Program in Quantitative and Computational Biosciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Richard W Kriwacki
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
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14
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Dobbs OG, Wilson RHC, Newling K, Ainscough JFX, Coverley D. Epigenetic instability caused by absence of CIZ1 drives transformation during quiescence cycles. BMC Biol 2023; 21:175. [PMID: 37580709 PMCID: PMC10426085 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01671-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cip1-interacting zinc finger protein 1 (CIZ1) forms RNA-dependent protein assemblies that stabilise epigenetic state, notable at the inactive X chromosome in females. CIZ1 has been linked with a range of human cancers and in mice genetic deletion of CIZ1 manifests as hyperproliferative lymphoid lineages in females. This suggests that its role in maintenance of epigenetic stability is linked with disease. RESULTS Here, we show that male and female CIZ1-null primary murine fibroblasts have reduced H4K20me1 and that this compromises nuclear condensation on entry to quiescence. Global transcriptional repression remains intact in condensation-deficient CIZ1-null cells; however, a subset of genes linked with chromatin condensation and homology-directed DNA repair are perturbed. Failure to condense is phenotypically mimicked by manipulation of the H4K20me1 methyltransferase, SET8, in WT cells and partially reverted in CIZ1-null cells upon re-expression of CIZ1. Crucially, during exit from quiescence, nuclear decondensation remains active, so that repeated entry and exit cycles give rise to expanded nuclei susceptible to mechanical stress, DNA damage checkpoint activation, and downstream emergence of transformed proliferative colonies. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate a role for CIZ1 in chromatin condensation on entry to quiescence and explore the consequences of this defect in CIZ1-null cells. Together, the data show that CIZ1's protection of the epigenome guards against genome instability during quiescence cycles. This identifies loss of CIZ1 as a potentially devastating vulnerability in cells that undergo cycles of quiescence entry and exit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia G Dobbs
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
- York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, UK.
| | - Rosemary H C Wilson
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
- Exact Sciences Innovation, The Sherard Building, Oxford Science Park, Edmund Halley Rd, Oxford, OX4 4DQ, UK
| | - Katherine Newling
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
- Genomics and Bioinformatics Laboratory, Bioscience Technology Facility, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | | | - Dawn Coverley
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
- York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, UK
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15
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Saar KL, Qian D, Good LL, Morgunov AS, Collepardo-Guevara R, Best RB, Knowles TPJ. Theoretical and Data-Driven Approaches for Biomolecular Condensates. Chem Rev 2023; 123:8988-9009. [PMID: 37171907 PMCID: PMC10375482 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00586] [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: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Biomolecular condensation processes are increasingly recognized as a fundamental mechanism that living cells use to organize biomolecules in time and space. These processes can lead to the formation of membraneless organelles that enable cells to perform distinct biochemical processes in controlled local environments, thereby supplying them with an additional degree of spatial control relative to that achieved by membrane-bound organelles. This fundamental importance of biomolecular condensation has motivated a quest to discover and understand the molecular mechanisms and determinants that drive and control this process. Within this molecular viewpoint, computational methods can provide a unique angle to studying biomolecular condensation processes by contributing the resolution and scale that are challenging to reach with experimental techniques alone. In this Review, we focus on three types of dry-lab approaches: theoretical methods, physics-driven simulations and data-driven machine learning methods. We review recent progress in using these tools for probing biomolecular condensation across all three fields and outline the key advantages and limitations of each of the approaches. We further discuss some of the key outstanding challenges that we foresee the community addressing next in order to develop a more complete picture of the molecular driving forces behind biomolecular condensation processes and their biological roles in health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kadi L. Saar
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
- Transition
Bio Ltd., Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Daoyuan Qian
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Lydia L. Good
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
- Laboratory
of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive
and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes
of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Alexey S. Morgunov
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Rosana Collepardo-Guevara
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
- Department
of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EH, United Kingdom
| | - Robert B. Best
- Laboratory
of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive
and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes
of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Tuomas P. J. Knowles
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
- Cavendish
Laboratory, Department of Physics, University
of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom
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16
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Guo G, Wang X, Zhang Y, Li T. Sequence variations of phase-separating proteins and resources for studying biomolecular condensates. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai) 2023; 55:1119-1132. [PMID: 37464880 PMCID: PMC10423696 DOI: 10.3724/abbs.2023131] [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: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Phase separation (PS) is an important mechanism underlying the formation of biomolecular condensates. Physiological condensates are associated with numerous biological processes, such as transcription, immunity, signaling, and synaptic transmission. Changes in particular amino acids or segments can disturb the protein's phase behavior and interactions with other biomolecules in condensates. It is thus presumed that variations in the phase-separating-prone domains can significantly impact the properties and functions of condensates. The dysfunction of condensates contributes to a number of pathological processes. Pharmacological perturbation of these condensates is proposed as a promising way to restore physiological states. In this review, we characterize the variations observed in PS proteins that lead to aberrant biomolecular compartmentalization. We also showcase recent advancements in bioinformatics of membraneless organelles (MLOs), focusing on available databases useful for screening PS proteins and describing endogenous condensates, guiding researchers to seek the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of biomolecular condensates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaigai Guo
- Department of Biomedical InformaticsSchool of Basic Medical SciencesPeking University Health Science CenterBeijing100191China
| | - Xinxin Wang
- Department of Biomedical InformaticsSchool of Basic Medical SciencesPeking University Health Science CenterBeijing100191China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Department of Biomedical InformaticsSchool of Basic Medical SciencesPeking University Health Science CenterBeijing100191China
| | - Tingting Li
- Department of Biomedical InformaticsSchool of Basic Medical SciencesPeking University Health Science CenterBeijing100191China
- Key Laboratory for NeuroscienceMinistry of Education/National Health Commission of ChinaPeking UniversityBeijing100191China
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17
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Rostam N, Ghosh S, Chow CFW, Hadarovich A, Landerer C, Ghosh R, Moon H, Hersemann L, Mitrea DM, Klein IA, Hyman AA, Toth-Petroczy A. CD-CODE: crowdsourcing condensate database and encyclopedia. Nat Methods 2023; 20:673-676. [PMID: 37024650 PMCID: PMC10172118 DOI: 10.1038/s41592-023-01831-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
The discovery of biomolecular condensates transformed our understanding of intracellular compartmentalization of molecules. To integrate interdisciplinary scientific knowledge about the function and composition of biomolecular condensates, we developed the crowdsourcing condensate database and encyclopedia ( cd-code.org ). CD-CODE is a community-editable platform, which includes a database of biomolecular condensates based on the literature, an encyclopedia of relevant scientific terms and a crowdsourcing web application. Our platform will accelerate the discovery and validation of biomolecular condensates, and facilitate efforts to understand their role in disease and as therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Rostam
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Soumyadeep Ghosh
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Chi Fung Willis Chow
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Anna Hadarovich
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Cedric Landerer
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Rajat Ghosh
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - HongKee Moon
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
| | - Lena Hersemann
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
| | | | | | - Anthony A Hyman
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Agnes Toth-Petroczy
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
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18
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Lahorkar A, Bhosale H, Sane A, Ramakrishnan V, Jayaraman VK. Identification of Phase Separating Proteins With Distributed Reduced Alphabet Representations of Sequences. IEEE/ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS 2023; 20:410-420. [PMID: 35139023 DOI: 10.1109/tcbb.2022.3149310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Phase separation of proteins play key roles in cellular physiology including bacterial division, tumorigenesis etc. Consequently, understanding the molecular forces that drive phase separation has gained considerable attention and several factors including hydrophobicity, protein dynamics, etc., have been implicated in phase separation. Data-driven identification of new phase separating proteins can enable in-depth understanding of cellular physiology and may pave way towards developing novel methods of tackling disease progression. In this work, we exploit the existing wealth of data on phase separating proteins to develop sequence-based machine learning method for prediction of phase separating proteins. We use reduced alphabet schemes based on hydrophobicity and conformational similarity along with distributed representation of protein sequences and biochemical properties as input features to Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest (RF) machine learning algorithms. We used both curated and balanced dataset for building the models. RF trained on balanced dataset with hydropathy, conformational similarity embeddings and biochemical properties achieved accuracy of 97%. Our work highlights the use of conformational similarity, a feature that reflects amino acid flexibility, and hydrophobicity for predicting phase separating proteins. Use of such "interpretable" features obtained from the ever-growing knowledgebase of phase separation is likely to improve prediction performances further.
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19
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Kart Ö, Mestiashvili A, Lachmann K, Kwasnicki R, Schroeder M. Emati: a recommender system for biomedical literature based on supervised learning. Database (Oxford) 2022; 2022:6885256. [PMID: 36484479 PMCID: PMC9732843 DOI: 10.1093/database/baac104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The scientific literature continues to grow at an ever-increasing rate. Considering that thousands of new articles are published every week, it is obvious how challenging it is to keep up with newly published literature on a regular basis. Using a recommender system that improves the user experience in the online environment can be a solution to this problem. In the present study, we aimed to develop a web-based article recommender service, called Emati. Since the data are text-based by nature and we wanted our system to be independent of the number of users, a content-based approach has been adopted in this study. A supervised machine learning model has been proposed to generate article recommendations. Two different supervised learning approaches, namely the naïve Bayes model with Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) vectorizer and the state-of-the-art language model bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT), have been implemented. In the first one, a list of documents is converted into TF-IDF-weighted features and fed into a classifier to distinguish relevant articles from irrelevant ones. Multinomial naïve Bayes algorithm is used as a classifier since, along with the class label, it also gives the probability that the input belongs to this class. The second approach is based on fine-tuning the pretrained state-of-the-art language model BERT for the text classification task. Emati provides a weekly updated list of article recommendations and presents it to the user, sorted by probability scores. New article recommendations are also sent to users' email addresses on a weekly basis. Additionally, Emati has a personalized search feature to search online services' (such as PubMed and arXiv) content and have the results sorted by the user's classifier. Database URL: https://emati.biotec.tu-dresden.de.
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Affiliation(s)
- Özge Kart
- Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC), Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB), Technische Universität Dresden, Tatzberg 47-49, Dresden 01307, Germany,Department of Computer Engineering, Dokuz Eylül University, Tinaztepe Campus, Buca 35160 Izmir, Turkey
| | - Alexandre Mestiashvili
- Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC), Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB), Technische Universität Dresden, Tatzberg 47-49, Dresden 01307, Germany
| | - Kurt Lachmann
- Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC), Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB), Technische Universität Dresden, Tatzberg 47-49, Dresden 01307, Germany
| | - Richard Kwasnicki
- Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC), Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB), Technische Universität Dresden, Tatzberg 47-49, Dresden 01307, Germany
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20
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Mukherjee P, Panda P, Kasturi P. A comparative meta-analysis of membraneless organelle-associated proteins with age related proteome of C. elegans. Cell Stress Chaperones 2022; 27:619-631. [PMID: 36169889 PMCID: PMC9672229 DOI: 10.1007/s12192-022-01299-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Proteome imbalance can lead to protein misfolding and aggregation which is associated with pathologies. Protein aggregation can also be an active, organized process and can be exploited by cells as a survival strategy. In adverse conditions, it is beneficial to deposit the proteins in a condensate rather degrading and resynthesizing. Membraneless organelles (MLOs) are biological condensates formed through liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), involving cellular components such as nucleic acids and proteins. LLPS is a regulated process, which when perturbed, can undergo a transition from a physiological liquid condensate to pathological solid-like protein aggregates. To understand how the MLO-associated proteins (MLO-APs) behave during aging, we performed a comparative meta-analysis with age-related proteome of C. elegans. We found that the MLO-APs are highly abundant throughout the lifespan in wild-type and long-lived daf-2 mutant animals. Interestingly, they are aggregating more in long-lived mutant animals compared to the age matched wild-type and short-lived daf-16 and hsf-1 mutant animals. GO term analysis revealed that the cell cycle and embryonic development are among the top enriched processes in addition to RNP components in aggregated proteome. Considering antagonistic pleotropic nature of these developmental genes and post mitotic status of C. elegans, we assume that these proteins phase transit during post development. As the organism ages, these MLO-APs either mature to become more insoluble or dissolve in uncontrolled manner. However, in the long-lived daf-2 mutant animals, the MLOs may attain protective states due to extended availability and association of molecular chaperones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pritam Mukherjee
- BioX Centre, School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Kamand, Himachal Pradesh, 175005, India
| | - Prajnadipta Panda
- BioX Centre, School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Kamand, Himachal Pradesh, 175005, India
| | - Prasad Kasturi
- BioX Centre, School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Kamand, Himachal Pradesh, 175005, India.
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21
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Cai H, Vernon RM, Forman-Kay JD. An Interpretable Machine-Learning Algorithm to Predict Disordered Protein Phase Separation Based on Biophysical Interactions. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12081131. [PMID: 36009025 PMCID: PMC9405563 DOI: 10.3390/biom12081131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein phase separation is increasingly understood to be an important mechanism of biological organization and biomaterial formation. Intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDRs) are often significant drivers of protein phase separation. A number of protein phase-separation-prediction algorithms are available, with many being specific for particular classes of proteins and others providing results that are not amenable to the interpretation of the contributing biophysical interactions. Here, we describe LLPhyScore, a new predictor of IDR-driven phase separation, based on a broad set of physical interactions or features. LLPhyScore uses sequence-based statistics from the RCSB PDB database of folded structures for these interactions, and is trained on a manually curated set of phase-separation-driving proteins with different negative training sets including the PDB and human proteome. Competitive training for a variety of physical chemical interactions shows the greatest contribution of solvent contacts, disorder, hydrogen bonds, pi–pi contacts, and kinked beta-structures to the score, with electrostatics, cation–pi contacts, and the absence of a helical secondary structure also contributing. LLPhyScore has strong phase-separation-prediction recall statistics and enables a breakdown of the contribution from each physical feature to a sequence’s phase-separation propensity, while recognizing the interdependence of many of these features. The tool should be a valuable resource for guiding experiments and providing hypotheses for protein function in normal and pathological states, as well as for understanding how specificity emerges in defining individual biomolecular condensates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Cai
- Molecular Medicine Program, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Robert M. Vernon
- Molecular Medicine Program, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Julie D. Forman-Kay
- Molecular Medicine Program, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Correspondence:
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22
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Badaczewska-Dawid AE, Uversky VN, Potoyan DA. BIAPSS: A Comprehensive Physicochemical Analyzer of Proteins Undergoing Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23116204. [PMID: 35682883 PMCID: PMC9181037 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23116204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Revised: 05/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of biomolecules is a phenomenon which is nowadays recognized as the driving force for the biogenesis of numerous functional membraneless organelles and cellular bodies. The interplay between the protein primary sequence and phase separation remains poorly understood, despite intensive research. To uncover the sequence-encoded signals of protein capable of undergoing LLPS, we developed a novel web platform named BIAPSS (Bioinformatics Analysis of LLPS Sequences). This web server provides on-the-fly analysis, visualization, and interpretation of the physicochemical and structural features for the superset of curated LLPS proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Vladimir N. Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
- Correspondence: (V.N.U.); (D.A.P.)
| | - Davit A. Potoyan
- Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA;
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
- Correspondence: (V.N.U.); (D.A.P.)
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23
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Huang Q, Wang Y, Liu Z, Lai L. The Regulatory Roles of Intrinsically Disordered Linker in VRN1-DNA Phase Separation. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23094594. [PMID: 35562982 PMCID: PMC9106000 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23094594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2022] [Revised: 04/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Biomacromolecules often form condensates to function in cells. VRN1 is a transcriptional repressor that plays a key role in plant vernalization. Containing two DNA-binding domains connected by an intrinsically disordered linker (IDL), VRN1 was shown to undergo liquid-like phase separation with DNA, and the length and charge pattern of IDL play major regulatory roles. However, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Using a polymer chain model and lattice-based Monte-Carlo simulations, we comprehensively investigated how the IDL regulates VRN1 and DNA phase separation. Using a worm-like chain model, we showed that the IDL controls the binding affinity of VRN1 to DNA, by modulating the effective local concentration of the VRN1 DNA-binding domains. The predicted binding affinities, under different IDL lengths, were in good agreement with previously reported experimental results. Our simulation of the phase diagrams of the VRN1 variants with neutral IDLs and DNA revealed that the ability of phase separation first increased and then decreased, along with the increase in the linker length. The strongest phase separation ability was achieved when the linker length was between 40 and 80 residues long. Adding charged patches to the IDL resulted in robust phase separation that changed little with IDL length variations. Our study provides mechanism insights on how IDL regulates VRN1 and DNA phase separation, and why naturally occurring VRN1-like proteins evolve to contain the charge segregated IDL sequences, which may also shed light on the molecular mechanisms of other IDL-regulated phase separation processes in living cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiaojing Huang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
| | - Yanyan Wang
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
| | - Zhirong Liu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
- Correspondence: (Z.L.); (L.L.)
| | - Luhua Lai
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
- Center for Quantitative Biology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Research Unit of Drug Design Method, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2021RU014), Beijing 100871, China
- Correspondence: (Z.L.); (L.L.)
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24
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Kalman ZE, Dudola D, Mészáros B, Gáspári Z, Dobson L. PSINDB: the postsynaptic protein-protein interaction database. Database (Oxford) 2022; 2022:baac007. [PMID: 35234850 PMCID: PMC9216581 DOI: 10.1093/database/baac007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The postsynaptic region is the receiving part of the synapse comprising thousands of proteins forming an elaborate and dynamically changing network indispensable for the molecular mechanisms behind fundamental phenomena such as learning and memory. Despite the growing amount of information about individual protein-protein interactions (PPIs) in this network, these data are mostly scattered in the literature or stored in generic databases that are not designed to display aspects that are fundamental to the understanding of postsynaptic functions. To overcome these limitations, we collected postsynaptic PPIs complemented by a high amount of detailed structural and biological information and launched a freely available resource, the Postsynaptic Interaction Database (PSINDB), to make these data and annotations accessible. PSINDB includes tens of thousands of binding regions together with structural features, mediating and regulating the formation of PPIs, annotated with detailed experimental information about each interaction. PSINDB is expected to be useful for various aspects of molecular neurobiology research, from experimental design to network and systems biology-based modeling and analysis of changes in the protein network upon various stimuli. Database URL https://psindb.itk.ppke.hu/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zsofia E Kalman
- Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Práter u. 50/A, Budapest 1083, Hungary
| | - Dániel Dudola
- Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Práter u. 50/A, Budapest 1083, Hungary
| | - Bálint Mészáros
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, Heidelberg 69117, Germany
| | - Zoltán Gáspári
- Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Práter u. 50/A, Budapest 1083, Hungary
| | - Laszlo Dobson
- *Corresponding author: Tel: +49 6221 387 8398; Fax: +49 6221 387 8530;
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25
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Chu X, Sun T, Li Q, Xu Y, Zhang Z, Lai L, Pei J. Prediction of liquid-liquid phase separating proteins using machine learning. BMC Bioinformatics 2022; 23:72. [PMID: 35168563 PMCID: PMC8845408 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-022-04599-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) of biomolecules in cell underpins the formation of membraneless organelles, which are the condensates of protein, nucleic acid, or both, and play critical roles in cellular function. Dysregulation of LLPS is implicated in a number of diseases. Although the LLPS of biomolecules has been investigated intensively in recent years, the knowledge of the prevalence and distribution of phase separation proteins (PSPs) is still lag behind. Development of computational methods to predict PSPs is therefore of great importance for comprehensive understanding of the biological function of LLPS.
Results Based on the PSPs collected in LLPSDB, we developed a sequence-based prediction tool for LLPS proteins (PSPredictor), which is an attempt at general purpose of PSP prediction that does not depend on specific protein types. Our method combines the componential and sequential information during the protein embedding stage, and, adopts the machine learning algorithm for final predicting. The proposed method achieves a tenfold cross-validation accuracy of 94.71%, and outperforms previously reported PSPs prediction tools. For further applications, we built a user-friendly PSPredictor web server (http://www.pkumdl.cn/PSPredictor), which is accessible for prediction of potential PSPs.
Conclusions PSPredictor could identifie novel scaffold proteins for stress granules and predict PSPs candidates in the human genome for further study. For further applications, we built a user-friendly PSPredictor web server (http://www.pkumdl.cn/PSPredictor), which provides valuable information for potential PSPs recognition. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12859-022-04599-w.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoquan Chu
- College of Information and Electrical Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Tanlin Sun
- Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Qian Li
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Youjun Xu
- Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Zhuqing Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
| | - Luhua Lai
- Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. .,Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. .,Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
| | - Jianfeng Pei
- Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
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26
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Currie SL, Rosen MK. Using quantitative reconstitution to investigate multicomponent condensates. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2022; 28:27-35. [PMID: 34772789 PMCID: PMC8675290 DOI: 10.1261/rna.079008.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Many biomolecular condensates are thought to form via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of multivalent macromolecules. For those that form through this mechanism, our understanding has benefitted significantly from biochemical reconstitutions of key components and activities. Reconstitutions of RNA-based condensates to date have mostly been based on relatively simple collections of molecules. However, proteomics and sequencing data indicate that natural RNA-based condensates are enriched in hundreds to thousands of different components, and genetic data suggest multiple interactions can contribute to condensate formation to varying degrees. In this Perspective, we describe recent progress in understanding RNA-based condensates through different levels of biochemical reconstitutions as a means to bridge the gap between simple in vitro reconstitution and cellular analyses. Complex reconstitutions provide insight into the formation, regulation, and functions of multicomponent condensates. We focus on two RNA-protein condensate case studies: stress granules and RNA processing bodies (P bodies), and examine the evidence for cooperative interactions among multiple components promoting LLPS. An important concept emerging from these studies is that composition and stoichiometry regulate biochemical activities within condensates. Based on the lessons learned from stress granules and P bodies, we discuss forward-looking approaches to understand the thermodynamic relationships between condensate components, with the goal of developing predictive models of composition and material properties, and their effects on biochemical activities. We anticipate that quantitative reconstitutions will facilitate understanding of the complex thermodynamics and functions of diverse RNA-protein condensates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon L Currie
- Department of Biophysics and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA
| | - Michael K Rosen
- Department of Biophysics and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA
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27
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Sołtys K, Ożyhar A. Transcription Regulators and Membraneless Organelles Challenges to Investigate Them. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:12758. [PMID: 34884563 PMCID: PMC8657783 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222312758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotic cells are composed of different bio-macromolecules that are divided into compartments called organelles providing optimal microenvironments for many cellular processes. A specific type of organelles is membraneless organelles. They are formed via a process called liquid-liquid phase separation that is driven by weak multivalent interactions between particular bio-macromolecules. In this review, we gather crucial information regarding different classes of transcription regulators with the propensity to undergo liquid-liquid phase separation and stress the role of intrinsically disordered regions in this phenomenon. We also discuss recently developed experimental systems for studying formation and properties of membraneless organelles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Sołtys
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland;
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28
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Paiz EA, Allen JH, Correia JJ, Fitzkee NC, Hough LE, Whitten ST. Beta turn propensity and a model polymer scaling exponent identify intrinsically disordered phase-separating proteins. J Biol Chem 2021; 297:101343. [PMID: 34710373 PMCID: PMC8592878 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The complex cellular milieu can spontaneously demix, or phase separate, in a process controlled in part by intrinsically disordered (ID) proteins. A protein's propensity to phase separate is thought to be driven by a preference for protein-protein over protein-solvent interactions. The hydrodynamic size of monomeric proteins, as quantified by the polymer scaling exponent (v), is driven by a similar balance. We hypothesized that mean v, as predicted by protein sequence, would be smaller for proteins with a strong propensity to phase separate. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed protein databases containing subsets of proteins that are folded, disordered, or disordered and known to spontaneously phase separate. We find that the phase-separating disordered proteins, on average, had lower calculated values of v compared with their non-phase-separating counterparts. Moreover, these proteins had a higher sequence-predicted propensity for β-turns. Using a simple, surface area-based model, we propose a physical mechanism for this difference: transient β-turn structures reduce the desolvation penalty of forming a protein-rich phase and increase exposure of atoms involved in π/sp2 valence electron interactions. By this mechanism, β-turns could act as energetically favored nucleation points, which may explain the increased propensity for turns in ID regions (IDRs) utilized biologically for phase separation. Phase-separating IDRs, non-phase-separating IDRs, and folded regions could be distinguished by combining v and β-turn propensity. Finally, we propose a new algorithm, ParSe (partition sequence), for predicting phase-separating protein regions, and which is able to accurately identify folded, disordered, and phase-separating protein regions based on the primary sequence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisia A Paiz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA
| | - Jeffre H Allen
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - John J Correia
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA
| | - Nicholas C Fitzkee
- Department of Chemistry, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, USA
| | - Loren E Hough
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA; BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
| | - Steven T Whitten
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA.
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29
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Gao Z, Zhang W, Chang R, Zhang S, Yang G, Zhao G. Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation: Unraveling the Enigma of Biomolecular Condensates in Microbial Cells. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:751880. [PMID: 34759902 PMCID: PMC8573418 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.751880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous examples of microbial phase-separated biomolecular condensates have now been identified following advances in fluorescence imaging and single molecule microscopy technologies. The structure, function, and potential applications of these microbial condensates are currently receiving a great deal of attention. By neatly compartmentalizing proteins and their interactors in membrane-less organizations while maintaining free communication between these macromolecules and the external environment, microbial cells are able to achieve enhanced metabolic efficiency. Typically, these condensates also possess the ability to rapidly adapt to internal and external changes. The biological functions of several phase-separated condensates in small bacterial cells show evolutionary convergence with the biological functions of their eukaryotic paralogs. Artificial microbial membrane-less organelles are being constructed with application prospects in biocatalysis, biosynthesis, and biomedicine. In this review, we provide an overview of currently known biomolecular condensates driven by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) in microbial cells, and we elaborate on their biogenesis mechanisms and biological functions. Additionally, we highlight the major challenges and future research prospects in studying microbial LLPS.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Guiwen Yang
- College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
| | - Guoyan Zhao
- College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
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30
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Lichtinger SM, Garaizar A, Collepardo-Guevara R, Reinhardt A. Targeted modulation of protein liquid-liquid phase separation by evolution of amino-acid sequence. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009328. [PMID: 34428231 PMCID: PMC8415608 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Rationally and efficiently modifying the amino-acid sequence of proteins to control their ability to undergo liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) on demand is not only highly desirable, but can also help to elucidate which protein features are important for LLPS. Here, we propose a computational method that couples a genetic algorithm to a sequence-dependent coarse-grained protein model to evolve the amino-acid sequences of phase-separating intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDRs), and purposely enhance or inhibit their capacity to phase-separate. We validate the predicted critical solution temperatures of the mutated sequences with ABSINTH, a more accurate all-atom model. We apply the algorithm to the phase-separating IDRs of three naturally occurring proteins, namely FUS, hnRNPA1 and LAF1, as prototypes of regions that exist in cells and undergo homotypic LLPS driven by different types of intermolecular interaction, and we find that the evolution of amino-acid sequences towards enhanced LLPS is driven in these three cases, among other factors, by an increase in the average size of the amino acids. However, the direction of change in the molecular driving forces that enhance LLPS (such as hydrophobicity, aromaticity and charge) depends on the initial amino-acid sequence. Finally, we show that the evolution of amino-acid sequences to modulate LLPS is strongly coupled to the make-up of the medium (e.g. the presence or absence of RNA), which may have significant implications for our understanding of phase separation within the many-component mixtures of biological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon M. Lichtinger
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Adiran Garaizar
- Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, Maxwell Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Rosana Collepardo-Guevara
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, Maxwell Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Aleks Reinhardt
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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31
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Ahmed J, Meszaros A, Lazar T, Tompa P. DNA-binding domain as the minimal region driving RNA-dependent liquid-liquid phase separation of androgen receptor. Protein Sci 2021; 30:1380-1392. [PMID: 33938068 PMCID: PMC8197421 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Androgen receptor (AR) is a nuclear hormone receptor that regulates the transcription of genes involved in the development of testis, prostate and the nervous system. Misregulation of AR is a major driver of prostate cancer (PC). The primary agonist of full-length AR is testosterone, whereas its splice variants, for example, AR-v7 implicated in cancer may lack a ligand-binding domain and are thus devoid of proper hormonal control. Recently, it was demonstrated that full-length AR, but not AR-v7, can undergo liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) in a cellular model of PC. In a detailed bioinformatics and deletion analysis, we have analyzed which AR region is responsible for LLPS. We found that its DNA-binding domain (DBD) can bind RNA and can undergo RNA-dependent LLPS. RNA regulates its LLPS in a reentrant manner, that is, it has an inhibitory effect at higher concentrations. As RNA binds DBD more weakly than DNA, while both RNA and DNA localizes into AR droplets, its LLPS depends on the relative concentration of the two nucleic acids. The region immediately preceding DBD has no effect on the LLPS propensity of AR, whereas the functional part of its long N-terminal disordered transactivation domain termed activation function 1 (AF1) inhibits AR-v7 phase separation. We suggest that the resulting diminished LLPS tendency of AR-v7 may contribute to the misregulation of the transcription function of AR in prostate cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junaid Ahmed
- VIB‐VUB Center for Structural Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor BiotechnologyBrusselsBelgium
- Structural Biology Brussels (SBB), Bioengineering Sciences DepartmentVrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)BrusselsBelgium
| | - Attila Meszaros
- VIB‐VUB Center for Structural Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor BiotechnologyBrusselsBelgium
- Structural Biology Brussels (SBB), Bioengineering Sciences DepartmentVrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)BrusselsBelgium
| | - Tamas Lazar
- VIB‐VUB Center for Structural Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor BiotechnologyBrusselsBelgium
- Structural Biology Brussels (SBB), Bioengineering Sciences DepartmentVrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)BrusselsBelgium
| | - Peter Tompa
- VIB‐VUB Center for Structural Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor BiotechnologyBrusselsBelgium
- Structural Biology Brussels (SBB), Bioengineering Sciences DepartmentVrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)BrusselsBelgium
- Institute of Enzymology, Research Centre for Natural SciencesBudapestHungary
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32
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Orti F, Navarro AM, Rabinovich A, Wodak SJ, Marino-Buslje C. Insight into membraneless organelles and their associated proteins: Drivers, Clients and Regulators. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021; 19:3964-3977. [PMID: 34377363 PMCID: PMC8318826 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.06.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2021] [Revised: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, attention has been devoted to proteins forming immiscible liquid phases within the liquid intracellular medium, commonly referred to as membraneless organelles (MLO). These organelles enable the spatiotemporal associations of cellular components that exchange dynamically with the cellular milieu. The dysregulation of these liquid-liquid phase separation processes (LLPS) may cause various diseases including neurodegenerative pathologies and cancer, among others. Until very recently, databases containing information on proteins forming MLOs, as well as tools and resources facilitating their analysis, were missing. This has recently changed with the publication of 4 databases that focus on different types of experiments, sets of proteins, inclusion criteria, and levels of annotation or curation. In this study we integrate and analyze the information across these databases, complement their records, and produce a consolidated set of proteins that enables the investigation of the LLPS phenomenon. To gain insight into the features that characterize different types of MLOs and the roles of their associated proteins, they were grouped into categories: High Confidence MLO associated (including Drivers and reviewed proteins), Potential Clients and Regulators, according to their annotated functions. We show that none of the databases taken alone covers the data sufficiently to enable meaningful analysis, validating our integration effort as essential for gaining better understanding of phase separation and laying the foundations for the discovery of new proteins potentially involved in this important cellular process. Lastly, we developed a server, enabling customized selections of different sets of proteins based on MLO location, database, disorder content, among other attributes (https://forti.shinyapps.io/mlos/).
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Orti
- Bioinformatics Unit, Fundación Instituto Leloir. Avda. Patricias Argentinas 435, Buenos Aires B1405WE, Argentina
| | - Alvaro M. Navarro
- Bioinformatics Unit, Fundación Instituto Leloir. Avda. Patricias Argentinas 435, Buenos Aires B1405WE, Argentina
| | - Andres Rabinovich
- Bioinformatics Unit, Fundación Instituto Leloir. Avda. Patricias Argentinas 435, Buenos Aires B1405WE, Argentina
| | - Shoshana J. Wodak
- VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, Flemish Institute for Biotechnology, Brussels, Belgium
- Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Cristina Marino-Buslje
- Bioinformatics Unit, Fundación Instituto Leloir. Avda. Patricias Argentinas 435, Buenos Aires B1405WE, Argentina
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33
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Nomoto A, Nishinami S, Shiraki K. Solubility Parameters of Amino Acids on Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation and Aggregation of Proteins. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:691052. [PMID: 34222258 PMCID: PMC8242209 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.691052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The solution properties of amino acids determine the folding, aggregation, and liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) behaviors of proteins. Various indices of amino acids, such as solubility, hydropathy, and conformational parameter, describe the behaviors of protein folding and solubility both in vitro and in vivo. However, understanding the propensity of LLPS and aggregation is difficult due to the multiple interactions among different amino acids. Here, the solubilities of aromatic amino acids (SAs) were investigated in solution containing 20 types of amino acids as amino acid solvents. The parameters of SAs in amino acid solvents (PSASs) were varied and dependent on the type of the solvent. Specifically, Tyr and Trp had the highest positive values while Glu and Asp had the lowest. The PSAS values represent soluble and insoluble interactions, which collectively are the driving force underlying the formation of droplets and aggregates. Interestingly, the PSAS of a soluble solvent reflected the affinity between amino acids and aromatic rings, while that of an insoluble solvent reflected the affinity between amino acids and water. These findings suggest that the PSAS can distinguish amino acids that contribute to droplet and aggregate formation, and provide a deeper understanding of LLPS and aggregation of proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akira Nomoto
- Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Suguru Nishinami
- Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Kentaro Shiraki
- Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
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34
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Dettori LG, Torrejon D, Chakraborty A, Dutta A, Mohamed M, Papp C, Kuznetsov VA, Sung P, Feng W, Bah A. A Tale of Loops and Tails: The Role of Intrinsically Disordered Protein Regions in R-Loop Recognition and Phase Separation. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:691694. [PMID: 34179096 PMCID: PMC8222781 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.691694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
R-loops are non-canonical, three-stranded nucleic acid structures composed of a DNA:RNA hybrid, a displaced single-stranded (ss)DNA, and a trailing ssRNA overhang. R-loops perform critical biological functions under both normal and disease conditions. To elucidate their cellular functions, we need to understand the mechanisms underlying R-loop formation, recognition, signaling, and resolution. Previous high-throughput screens identified multiple proteins that bind R-loops, with many of these proteins containing folded nucleic acid processing and binding domains that prevent (e.g., topoisomerases), resolve (e.g., helicases, nucleases), or recognize (e.g., KH, RRMs) R-loops. However, a significant number of these R-loop interacting Enzyme and Reader proteins also contain long stretches of intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). The precise molecular and structural mechanisms by which the folded domains and IDRs synergize to recognize and process R-loops or modulate R-loop-mediated signaling have not been fully explored. While studying one such modular R-loop Reader, the Fragile X Protein (FMRP), we unexpectedly discovered that the C-terminal IDR (C-IDR) of FMRP is the predominant R-loop binding site, with the three N-terminal KH domains recognizing the trailing ssRNA overhang. Interestingly, the C-IDR of FMRP has recently been shown to undergo spontaneous Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation (LLPS) assembly by itself or in complex with another non-canonical nucleic acid structure, RNA G-quadruplex. Furthermore, we have recently shown that FMRP can suppress persistent R-loops that form during transcription, a process that is also enhanced by LLPS via the assembly of membraneless transcription factories. These exciting findings prompted us to explore the role of IDRs in R-loop processing and signaling proteins through a comprehensive bioinformatics and computational biology study. Here, we evaluated IDR prevalence, sequence composition and LLPS propensity for the known R-loop interactome. We observed that, like FMRP, the majority of the R-loop interactome, especially Readers, contains long IDRs that are highly enriched in low complexity sequences with biased amino acid composition, suggesting that these IDRs could directly interact with R-loops, rather than being “mere flexible linkers” connecting the “functional folded enzyme or binding domains”. Furthermore, our analysis shows that several proteins in the R-loop interactome are either predicted to or have been experimentally demonstrated to undergo LLPS or are known to be associated with phase separated membraneless organelles. Thus, our overall results present a thought-provoking hypothesis that IDRs in the R-loop interactome can provide a functional link between R-loop recognition via direct binding and downstream signaling through the assembly of LLPS-mediated membrane-less R-loop foci. The absence or dysregulation of the function of IDR-enriched R-loop interactors can potentially lead to severe genomic defects, such as the widespread R-loop-mediated DNA double strand breaks that we recently observed in Fragile X patient-derived cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo G Dettori
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, United States
| | - Diego Torrejon
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, United States
| | - Arijita Chakraborty
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, United States
| | - Arijit Dutta
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Mohamed Mohamed
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, United States
| | - Csaba Papp
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, United States.,Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, United States
| | - Vladimir A Kuznetsov
- Department of Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, United States.,Bioinformatics Institute, ASTAR Biomedical Institutes, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Patrick Sung
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Wenyi Feng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, United States
| | - Alaji Bah
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, United States
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35
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King JT, Shakya A. Phase separation of DNA: From past to present. Biophys J 2021; 120:1139-1149. [PMID: 33582138 PMCID: PMC8059212 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.01.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Phase separation of biological molecules, such as nucleic acids and proteins, has garnered widespread attention across many fields in recent years. For instance, liquid-liquid phase separation has been implicated not only in membraneless intracellular organization but also in many biochemical processes, including transcription, translation, and cellular signaling. Here, we present a historical background of biological phase separation and survey current work on nuclear organization and its connection to DNA phase separation from the perspective of DNA sequence, structure, and genomic context.
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Affiliation(s)
- John T King
- Center for Soft and Living Matter, Institute for Basic Science, Ulsan, Republic of Korea.
| | - Anisha Shakya
- Center for Soft and Living Matter, Institute for Basic Science, Ulsan, Republic of Korea.
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36
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Farahi N, Lazar T, Wodak SJ, Tompa P, Pancsa R. Integration of Data from Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation Databases Highlights Concentration and Dosage Sensitivity of LLPS Drivers. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22063017. [PMID: 33809541 PMCID: PMC8002189 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22063017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a molecular process that leads to the formation of membraneless organelles, representing functionally specialized liquid-like cellular condensates formed by proteins and nucleic acids. Integrating the data on LLPS-associated proteins from dedicated databases revealed only modest agreement between them and yielded a high-confidence dataset of 89 human LLPS drivers. Analysis of the supporting evidence for our dataset uncovered a systematic and potentially concerning difference between protein concentrations used in a good fraction of the in vitro LLPS experiments, a key parameter that governs the phase behavior, and the proteomics-derived cellular abundance levels of the corresponding proteins. Closer scrutiny of the underlying experimental data enabled us to offer a sound rationale for this systematic difference, which draws on our current understanding of the cellular organization of the proteome and the LLPS process. In support of this rationale, we find that genes coding for our human LLPS drivers tend to be dosage-sensitive, suggesting that their cellular availability is tightly regulated to preserve their functional role in direct or indirect relation to condensate formation. Our analysis offers guideposts for increasing agreement between in vitro and in vivo studies, probing the roles of proteins in LLPS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nazanin Farahi
- VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, Flemish Institute for Biotechnology, 1050 Brussels, Belgium; (N.F.); (T.L.); (S.J.W.)
- Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Biology, Technical University of Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Tamas Lazar
- VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, Flemish Institute for Biotechnology, 1050 Brussels, Belgium; (N.F.); (T.L.); (S.J.W.)
- Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Shoshana J. Wodak
- VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, Flemish Institute for Biotechnology, 1050 Brussels, Belgium; (N.F.); (T.L.); (S.J.W.)
- Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Peter Tompa
- VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology, Flemish Institute for Biotechnology, 1050 Brussels, Belgium; (N.F.); (T.L.); (S.J.W.)
- Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Institute of Enzymology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Correspondence: (P.T.); (R.P.)
| | - Rita Pancsa
- Institute of Enzymology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Correspondence: (P.T.); (R.P.)
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37
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Shen B, Chen Z, Yu C, Chen T, Shi M, Li T. Computational Screening of Phase-separating Proteins. GENOMICS PROTEOMICS & BIOINFORMATICS 2021; 19:13-24. [PMID: 33610793 PMCID: PMC8498823 DOI: 10.1016/j.gpb.2020.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Phase separation is an important mechanism that mediates the compartmentalization of proteins in cells. Proteins that can undergo phase separation in cells share certain typical sequence features, like intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) and multiple modular domains. Sequence-based analysis tools are commonly used in the screening of these proteins. However, current phase separation predictors are mostly designed for IDR-containing proteins, thus inevitably overlook the phase-separating proteins with relatively low IDR content. Features other than amino acid sequence could provide crucial information for identifying possible phase-separating proteins: protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks show multivalent interactions that underlie phase separation process; post-translational modifications (PTMs) are crucial in the regulation of phase separation behavior; spherical structures revealed in immunofluorescence (IF)images indicate condensed droplets formed by phase-separating proteins, distinguishing these proteins from non-phase-separating proteins. Here, we summarize the sequence-based tools for predicting phase-separating proteins and highlight the importance of incorporating PPIs, PTMs, and IF images into phase separation prediction in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boyan Shen
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Zhaoming Chen
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Chunyu Yu
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China; Institute of Systems Biomedicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Taoyu Chen
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Minglei Shi
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Bioinformatics Division and Center for Synthetic & Systems Biology, BNRist, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Tingting Li
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China; Institute of Systems Biomedicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China.
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38
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Miné-Hattab J, Heltberg M, Villemeur M, Guedj C, Mora T, Walczak AM, Dahan M, Taddei A. Single molecule microscopy reveals key physical features of repair foci in living cells. eLife 2021; 10:60577. [PMID: 33543712 PMCID: PMC7924958 DOI: 10.7554/elife.60577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In response to double strand breaks (DSB), repair proteins accumulate at damaged sites, forming membrane-less sub-compartments or foci. Here we explored the physical nature of these foci, using single molecule microscopy in living cells. Rad52, the functional homolog of BRCA2 in yeast, accumulates at DSB sites and diffuses ~6 times faster within repair foci than the focus itself, exhibiting confined motion. The Rad52 confinement radius coincides with the focus size: foci resulting from 2 DSBs are twice larger in volume that the ones induced by a unique DSB and the Rad52 confinement radius scales accordingly. In contrast, molecules of the single strand binding protein Rfa1 follow anomalous diffusion similar to the focus itself or damaged chromatin. We conclude that while most Rfa1 molecules are bound to the ssDNA, Rad52 molecules are free to explore the entire focus reflecting the existence of a liquid droplet around damaged DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Miné-Hattab
- Institut Curie, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Nuclear Dynamics, Paris, France
| | - Mathias Heltberg
- Institut Curie, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Nuclear Dynamics, Paris, France.,Laboratoire de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL University, CNRS, Sorbonne Université , Université de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Marie Villemeur
- Institut Curie, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Nuclear Dynamics, Paris, France
| | - Chloé Guedj
- Institut Curie, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Nuclear Dynamics, Paris, France
| | - Thierry Mora
- Laboratoire de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL University, CNRS, Sorbonne Université , Université de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Aleksandra M Walczak
- Laboratoire de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL University, CNRS, Sorbonne Université , Université de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Maxime Dahan
- Institut Curie, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physico Chimie Curie, Paris, France
| | - Angela Taddei
- Institut Curie, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Nuclear Dynamics, Paris, France.,Cogitamus Laboratory, Paris, France
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39
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Piovesan D, Necci M, Escobedo N, Monzon AM, Hatos A, Mičetić I, Quaglia F, Paladin L, Ramasamy P, Dosztányi Z, Vranken WF, Davey N, Parisi G, Fuxreiter M, Tosatto SE. MobiDB: intrinsically disordered proteins in 2021. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:D361-D367. [PMID: 33237329 PMCID: PMC7779018 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa1058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The MobiDB database (URL: https://mobidb.org/) provides predictions and annotations for intrinsically disordered proteins. Here, we report recent developments implemented in MobiDB version 4, regarding the database format, with novel types of annotations and an improved update process. The new website includes a re-designed user interface, a more effective search engine and advanced API for programmatic access. The new database schema gives more flexibility for the users, as well as simplifying the maintenance and updates. In addition, the new entry page provides more visualisation tools including customizable feature viewer and graphs of the residue contact maps. MobiDB v4 annotates the binding modes of disordered proteins, whether they undergo disorder-to-order transitions or remain disordered in the bound state. In addition, disordered regions undergoing liquid-liquid phase separation or post-translational modifications are defined. The integrated information is presented in a simplified interface, which enables faster searches and allows large customized datasets to be downloaded in TSV, Fasta or JSON formats. An alternative advanced interface allows users to drill deeper into features of interest. A new statistics page provides information at database and proteome levels. The new MobiDB version presents state-of-the-art knowledge on disordered proteins and improves data accessibility for both computational and experimental users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damiano Piovesan
- Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, Padua 35121, Italy
| | - Marco Necci
- Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, Padua 35121, Italy
| | - Nahuel Escobedo
- Dept. of Science and Technology, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - András Hatos
- Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, Padua 35121, Italy
| | - Ivan Mičetić
- Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, Padua 35121, Italy
| | - Federica Quaglia
- Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, Padua 35121, Italy
| | - Lisanna Paladin
- Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, Padua 35121, Italy
| | - Pathmanaban Ramasamy
- Interuniversity Institute of Bioinformatics in Brussels, ULB/VUB, Triomflaan, BC building, 6th floor, CP 263, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Centre for Structural Biology, VIB, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology, VIB, Ghent 9000, Belgium
- Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium
| | | | - Wim F Vranken
- Interuniversity Institute of Bioinformatics in Brussels, ULB/VUB, Triomflaan, BC building, 6th floor, CP 263, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Centre for Structural Biology, VIB, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Norman E Davey
- Division of Cancer Biology, The Institute of Cancer Research, 237 Fulham Road, London, SW3 6JB, UK
| | - Gustavo Parisi
- Dept. of Science and Technology, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Monika Fuxreiter
- Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, Padua 35121, Italy
| | - Silvio C E Tosatto
- Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, Padua 35121, Italy
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40
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Hardenberg M, Horvath A, Ambrus V, Fuxreiter M, Vendruscolo M. Widespread occurrence of the droplet state of proteins in the human proteome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:33254-33262. [PMID: 33318217 PMCID: PMC7777240 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2007670117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A wide range of proteins have been reported to condensate into a dense liquid phase, forming a reversible droplet state. Failure in the control of the droplet state can lead to the formation of the more stable amyloid state, which is often disease-related. These observations prompt the question of how many proteins can undergo liquid-liquid phase separation. Here, in order to address this problem, we discuss the biophysical principles underlying the droplet state of proteins by analyzing current evidence for droplet-driver and droplet-client proteins. Based on the concept that the droplet state is stabilized by the large conformational entropy associated with nonspecific side-chain interactions, we develop the FuzDrop method to predict droplet-promoting regions and proteins, which can spontaneously phase separate. We use this approach to carry out a proteome-level study to rank proteins according to their propensity to form the droplet state, spontaneously or via partner interactions. Our results lead to the conclusion that the droplet state could be, at least transiently, accessible to most proteins under conditions found in the cellular environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maarten Hardenberg
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Attila Horvath
- The John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Viktor Ambrus
- Laboratory of Protein Dynamics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Debrecen, H-4010 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Monika Fuxreiter
- Laboratory of Protein Dynamics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Debrecen, H-4010 Debrecen, Hungary;
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Michele Vendruscolo
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom;
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41
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Brocca S, Grandori R, Longhi S, Uversky V. Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation by Intrinsically Disordered Protein Regions of Viruses: Roles in Viral Life Cycle and Control of Virus-Host Interactions. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E9045. [PMID: 33260713 PMCID: PMC7730420 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21239045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Revised: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are unable to adopt a unique 3D structure under physiological conditions and thus exist as highly dynamic conformational ensembles. IDPs are ubiquitous and widely spread in the protein realm. In the last decade, compelling experimental evidence has been gathered, pointing to the ability of IDPs and intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) to undergo liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), a phenomenon driving the formation of membrane-less organelles (MLOs). These biological condensates play a critical role in the spatio-temporal organization of the cell, where they exert a multitude of key biological functions, ranging from transcriptional regulation and silencing to control of signal transduction networks. After introducing IDPs and LLPS, we herein survey available data on LLPS by IDPs/IDRs of viral origin and discuss their functional implications. We distinguish LLPS associated with viral replication and trafficking of viral components, from the LLPS-mediated interference of viruses with host cell functions. We discuss emerging evidence on the ability of plant virus proteins to interfere with the regulation of MLOs of the host and propose that bacteriophages can interfere with bacterial LLPS, as well. We conclude by discussing how LLPS could be targeted to treat phase separation-associated diseases, including viral infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Brocca
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
| | - Rita Grandori
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
| | - Sonia Longhi
- Laboratoire Architecture et Fonction des Macromolécules Biologiques (AFMB), Aix-Marseille University and CNRS, 13288 Marseille, France
| | - Vladimir Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Byrd Alzheimer’s Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33601, USA
- Laboratory of New Methods in Biology, Institute for Biological Instrumentation of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Research Center “Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, 142290 Pushchino, Russia
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42
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Phase separation by ssDNA binding protein controlled via protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:26206-26217. [PMID: 33020264 PMCID: PMC7584906 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2000761117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Cells must rapidly and efficiently react to DNA damage to avoid its harmful consequences. Here we report a molecular mechanism that gives rise to a model of how bacterial cells mobilize DNA repair proteins for timely response to genomic stress and initiation of DNA repair upon exposure of single-stranded DNA. We found that bacterial single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB), a central player in genome metabolism, can undergo dynamic phase separation under physiological conditions. SSB condensates can store a wide array of DNA repair proteins that specifically interact with SSB. However, elevated levels of single-stranded DNA during genomic stress can dissolve SSB condensates, enabling rapid mobilization of SSB and SSB-interacting proteins to sites of DNA damage. Bacterial single-stranded (ss)DNA-binding proteins (SSB) are essential for the replication and maintenance of the genome. SSBs share a conserved ssDNA-binding domain, a less conserved intrinsically disordered linker (IDL), and a highly conserved C-terminal peptide (CTP) motif that mediates a wide array of protein−protein interactions with DNA-metabolizing proteins. Here we show that the Escherichia coli SSB protein forms liquid−liquid phase-separated condensates in cellular-like conditions through multifaceted interactions involving all structural regions of the protein. SSB, ssDNA, and SSB-interacting molecules are highly concentrated within the condensates, whereas phase separation is overall regulated by the stoichiometry of SSB and ssDNA. Together with recent results on subcellular SSB localization patterns, our results point to a conserved mechanism by which bacterial cells store a pool of SSB and SSB-interacting proteins. Dynamic phase separation enables rapid mobilization of this protein pool to protect exposed ssDNA and repair genomic loci affected by DNA damage.
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43
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Li Q, Wang X, Dou Z, Yang W, Huang B, Lou J, Zhang Z. Protein Databases Related to Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E6796. [PMID: 32947964 PMCID: PMC7555049 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21186796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Revised: 09/05/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of biomolecules, which underlies the formation of membraneless organelles (MLOs) or biomolecular condensates, has been investigated intensively in recent years. It contributes to the regulation of various physiological processes and related disease development. A rapidly increasing number of studies have recently focused on the biological functions, driving, and regulating mechanisms of LLPS in cells. Based on the mounting data generated in the investigations, six databases (LLPSDB, PhaSePro, PhaSepDB, DrLLPS, RNAgranuleDB, HUMAN CELL MAP) have been developed, which are designed directly based on LLPS studies or the component identification of MLOs. These resources are invaluable for a deeper understanding of the cellular function of biomolecular phase separation, as well as the development of phase-separating protein prediction and design. In this review, we compare the data contents, annotations, and organization of these databases, highlight their unique features, overlaps, and fundamental differences, and discuss their suitable applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Li
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; (Q.L.); (X.W.); (Z.D.); (W.Y.); (B.H.); (J.L.)
| | - Xi Wang
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; (Q.L.); (X.W.); (Z.D.); (W.Y.); (B.H.); (J.L.)
| | - Zhihui Dou
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; (Q.L.); (X.W.); (Z.D.); (W.Y.); (B.H.); (J.L.)
| | - Weishan Yang
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; (Q.L.); (X.W.); (Z.D.); (W.Y.); (B.H.); (J.L.)
| | - Beifang Huang
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; (Q.L.); (X.W.); (Z.D.); (W.Y.); (B.H.); (J.L.)
| | - Jizhong Lou
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; (Q.L.); (X.W.); (Z.D.); (W.Y.); (B.H.); (J.L.)
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Zhuqing Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; (Q.L.); (X.W.); (Z.D.); (W.Y.); (B.H.); (J.L.)
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44
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Relevance of Electrostatic Charges in Compactness, Aggregation, and Phase Separation of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21176208. [PMID: 32867340 PMCID: PMC7503639 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21176208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 08/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The abundance of intrinsic disorder in the protein realm and its role in a variety of physiological and pathological cellular events have strengthened the interest of the scientific community in understanding the structural and dynamical properties of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and regions (IDRs). Attempts at rationalizing the general principles underlying both conformational properties and transitions of IDPs/IDRs must consider the abundance of charged residues (Asp, Glu, Lys, and Arg) that typifies these proteins, rendering them assimilable to polyampholytes or polyelectrolytes. Their conformation strongly depends on both the charge density and distribution along the sequence (i.e., charge decoration) as highlighted by recent experimental and theoretical studies that have introduced novel descriptors. Published experimental data are revisited herein in the frame of this formalism, in a new and possibly unitary perspective. The physicochemical properties most directly affected by charge density and distribution are compaction and solubility, which can be described in a relatively simplified way by tools of polymer physics. Dissecting factors controlling such properties could contribute to better understanding complex biological phenomena, such as fibrillation and phase separation. Furthermore, this knowledge is expected to have enormous practical implications for the design, synthesis, and exploitation of bio-derived materials and the control of natural biological processes.
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Khramushin A, Marcu O, Alam N, Shimony O, Padhorny D, Brini E, Dill KA, Vajda S, Kozakov D, Schueler-Furman O. Modeling beta-sheet peptide-protein interactions: Rosetta FlexPepDock in CAPRI rounds 38-45. Proteins 2020; 88:1037-1049. [PMID: 31891416 PMCID: PMC7539656 DOI: 10.1002/prot.25871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Revised: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Peptide-protein docking is challenging due to the considerable conformational freedom of the peptide. CAPRI rounds 38-45 included two peptide-protein interactions, both characterized by a peptide forming an additional beta strand of a beta sheet in the receptor. Using the Rosetta FlexPepDock peptide docking protocol we generated top-performing, high-accuracy models for targets 134 and 135, involving an interaction between a peptide derived from L-MAG with DLC8. In addition, we were able to generate the only medium-accuracy models for a particularly challenging target, T121. In contrast to the classical peptide-mediated interaction, in which receptor side chains contact both peptide backbone and side chains, beta-sheet complementation involves a major contribution to binding by hydrogen bonds between main chain atoms. To establish how binding affinity and specificity are established in this special class of peptide-protein interactions, we extracted PeptiDBeta, a benchmark of solved structures of different protein domains that are bound by peptides via beta-sheet complementation, and tested our protocol for global peptide-docking PIPER-FlexPepDock on this dataset. We find that the beta-strand part of the peptide is sufficient to generate approximate and even high resolution models of many interactions, but inclusion of adjacent motif residues often provides additional information necessary to achieve high resolution model quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alisa Khramushin
- Department of Microbiologyand Molecular Genetics, Institute
for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University,
Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Orly Marcu
- Department of Microbiologyand Molecular Genetics, Institute
for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University,
Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Nawsad Alam
- Department of Microbiologyand Molecular Genetics, Institute
for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University,
Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Orly Shimony
- Department of Microbiologyand Molecular Genetics, Institute
for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University,
Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Dzmitry Padhorny
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Stony
Brook University, New York, New York
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony
Brook University, New York, New York
| | - Emiliano Brini
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony
Brook University, New York, New York
| | - Ken A. Dill
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony
Brook University, New York, New York
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook
University, New York, New York
- Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, New York,
New York
| | - Sandor Vajda
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University,
Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston,
Massachusetts
| | - Dima Kozakov
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Stony
Brook University, New York, New York
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony
Brook University, New York, New York
| | - Ora Schueler-Furman
- Department of Microbiologyand Molecular Genetics, Institute
for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University,
Jerusalem, Israel
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46
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Monzon AM, Necci M, Quaglia F, Walsh I, Zanotti G, Piovesan D, Tosatto SCE. Experimentally Determined Long Intrinsically Disordered Protein Regions Are Now Abundant in the Protein Data Bank. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21124496. [PMID: 32599863 PMCID: PMC7349999 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21124496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered protein regions are commonly defined from missing electron density in X-ray structures. Experimental evidence for long disorder regions (LDRs) of at least 30 residues was so far limited to manually curated proteins. Here, we describe a comprehensive and large-scale analysis of experimental LDRs for 3133 unique proteins, demonstrating an increasing coverage of intrinsic disorder in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) in the last decade. The results suggest that long missing residue regions are a good quality source to annotate intrinsically disordered regions and perform functional analysis in large data sets. The consensus approach used to define LDRs allows to evaluate context dependent disorder and provide a common definition at the protein level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Miguel Monzon
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy; (A.M.M.); (M.N.); (F.Q.); (G.Z.)
| | - Marco Necci
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy; (A.M.M.); (M.N.); (F.Q.); (G.Z.)
| | - Federica Quaglia
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy; (A.M.M.); (M.N.); (F.Q.); (G.Z.)
| | - Ian Walsh
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute, A*STAR, Singapore 138668, Singapore;
| | - Giuseppe Zanotti
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy; (A.M.M.); (M.N.); (F.Q.); (G.Z.)
| | - Damiano Piovesan
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy; (A.M.M.); (M.N.); (F.Q.); (G.Z.)
- Correspondence: (D.P.); (S.C.E.T.)
| | - Silvio C. E. Tosatto
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy; (A.M.M.); (M.N.); (F.Q.); (G.Z.)
- Correspondence: (D.P.); (S.C.E.T.)
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47
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Webber CJ, Lei SE, Wolozin B. The pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disease: Disturbing the balance between phase separation and irreversible aggregation. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2020; 174:187-223. [PMID: 32828466 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2020.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) brings together functionally related proteins through the intrinsic biophysics of proteins in a process that is driven by reducing free energy and maximizing entropy. The process of LLPS allows proteins to form structures, termed membrane-less organelles. These diverse, dynamic organelles are active in a wide range of processes in the nucleus, cytoplasm, mitochondria and synapse, and ranging from bacteria to plants to eukaryotes. RNA and DNA present long chained charged polymers that promote LLPS. Consequently, many RNA binding proteins (RBPs) and DNA binding proteins form membrane-less organelles. However, the highly concentrated phase separated state creates conditions that also promote formation of irreversible protein aggregates. Mutations in RNA and DNA binding proteins that increase the stability of irreversible aggregates also increase the accumulation of irreversible aggregates directly and from membrane-less organelles. Many of the RBPs that exhibit disease-linked mutations carry out cytoplasmic actions through stress granules, which are a pleiotropic type of RNA granule that regulates the translational response to stress. Phosphorylation and oligomerization of tau facilitates its interactions with RBPs and ribosomal proteins, affecting RNA translation; we propose that this is a major reason that tau becomes phosphorylated with stress. Persistent stress leads to the accumulation of irreversible aggregates composed of RBPs or tau, which then cause toxicity and form many of the hallmark pathologies of major neurodegenerative diseases. This pathophysiology ultimately leads to multiple forms of neurodegenerative diseases, the specific type of which reflects the temporal and spatial accumulation of different aggregating proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chelsea J Webber
- Department of Pharmacology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Shuwen Eric Lei
- Department of Pharmacology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Benjamin Wolozin
- Department of Pharmacology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States; Program in Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States; Neurophotonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States.
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48
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Quiroz FG, Fiore VF, Levorse J, Polak L, Wong E, Pasolli HA, Fuchs E. Liquid-liquid phase separation drives skin barrier formation. Science 2020; 367:367/6483/eaax9554. [PMID: 32165560 DOI: 10.1126/science.aax9554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2019] [Revised: 11/20/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
At the body surface, skin's stratified squamous epithelium is challenged by environmental extremes. The surface of the skin is composed of enucleated, flattened surface squames. They derive from underlying, transcriptionally active keratinocytes that display filaggrin-containing keratohyalin granules (KGs) whose function is unclear. Here, we found that filaggrin assembles KGs through liquid-liquid phase separation. The dynamics of phase separation governed terminal differentiation and were disrupted by human skin barrier disease-associated mutations. We used fluorescent sensors to investigate endogenous phase behavior in mice. Phase transitions during epidermal stratification crowded cellular spaces with liquid-like KGs whose coalescence was restricted by keratin filament bundles. We imaged cells as they neared the skin surface and found that environmentally regulated KG phase dynamics drive squame formation. Thus, epidermal structure and function are driven by phase-separation dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Garcia Quiroz
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Vincent F Fiore
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - John Levorse
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Lisa Polak
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Ellen Wong
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - H Amalia Pasolli
- Electron Microscopy Resource Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Elaine Fuchs
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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49
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Shakya A, Park S, Rana N, King JT. Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation of Histone Proteins in Cells: Role in Chromatin Organization. Biophys J 2020; 118:753-764. [PMID: 31952807 PMCID: PMC7002979 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2019.12.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Revised: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of proteins and nucleic acids has emerged as an important phenomenon in membraneless intracellular organization. We demonstrate that the linker histone H1 condenses into liquid-like droplets in the nuclei of HeLa cells. The droplets, observed during the interphase of the cell cycle, are colocalized with DNA-dense regions indicative of heterochromatin. In vitro, H1 readily undergoes LLPS with both DNA and nucleosomes of varying lengths but does not phase separate in the absence of DNA. The nucleosome core particle maintains its structural integrity inside the droplets, as demonstrated by FRET. Unexpectedly, H2A also forms droplets in the presence of DNA and nucleosomes in vitro, whereas the other core histones precipitate. The phase diagram of H1 with nucleosomes is invariant to the nucleosome length at physiological salt concentration, indicating that H1 is capable of partitioning large segments of DNA into liquid-like droplets. Of the proteins tested (H1, core histones, and the heterochromatin protein HP1α), this property is unique to H1. In addition, free nucleotides promote droplet formation of H1 nucleosome in a nucleotide-dependent manner, with droplet formation being most favorable with ATP. Although LLPS of HP1α is known to contribute to the organization of heterochromatin, our results indicate that H1 also plays a role. Based on our study, we propose that H1 and DNA act as scaffolds for phase-separated heterochromatin domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anisha Shakya
- Center for Soft and Living Matter, Institute for Basic Science, Ulsan, Republic of Korea.
| | - Seonyoung Park
- Center for Soft and Living Matter, Institute for Basic Science, Ulsan, Republic of Korea; Department of Chemistry, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Neha Rana
- Center for Soft and Living Matter, Institute for Basic Science, Ulsan, Republic of Korea; Department of Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - John T King
- Center for Soft and Living Matter, Institute for Basic Science, Ulsan, Republic of Korea.
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50
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Rigden DJ, Fernández XM. The 27th annual Nucleic Acids Research database issue and molecular biology database collection. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:D1-D8. [PMID: 31906604 PMCID: PMC6943072 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz1161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The 2020 Nucleic Acids Research Database Issue contains 148 papers spanning molecular biology. They include 59 papers reporting on new databases and 79 covering recent changes to resources previously published in the issue. A further ten papers are updates on databases most recently published elsewhere. This issue contains three breakthrough articles: AntiBodies Chemically Defined (ABCD) curates antibody sequences and their cognate antigens; SCOP returns with a new schema and breaks away from a purely hierarchical structure; while the new Alliance of Genome Resources brings together a number of Model Organism databases to pool knowledge and tools. Major returning nucleic acid databases include miRDB and miRTarBase. Databases for protein sequence analysis include CDD, DisProt and ELM, alongside no fewer than four newcomers covering proteins involved in liquid-liquid phase separation. In metabolism and signaling, Pathway Commons, Reactome and Metabolights all contribute papers. PATRIC and MicroScope update in microbial genomes while human and model organism genomics resources include Ensembl, Ensembl genomes and UCSC Genome Browser. Immune-related proteins are covered by updates from IPD-IMGT/HLA and AFND, as well as newcomers VDJbase and OGRDB. Drug design is catered for by updates from the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology and the Therapeutic Target Database. The entire Database Issue is freely available online on the Nucleic Acids Research website (https://academic.oup.com/nar). The NAR online Molecular Biology Database Collection has been revised, updating 305 entries, adding 65 new resources and eliminating 125 discontinued URLs; so bringing the current total to 1637 databases. It is available at http://www.oxfordjournals.org/nar/database/c/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Rigden
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
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