Protocol to alter a protein's phase separation capacity to control cell fate transitions.

STAR Protoc

RNA Biomedical Institute, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.

Published: December 2021

AI Article Synopsis

  • A protocol is introduced to manipulate the phase separation capacity of proteins, specifically focusing on mutations in intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs).
  • By mutating specific residues, the study can disrupt phase separation, which is crucial for cell fate transitions.
  • The researchers also explore ways to restore phase separation by fusing IDRs known to drive it, highlighting the challenge of predicting which mutations will be effective.

Article Abstract

Phase separation of proteins regulates transcription. Here, we present a protocol to manipulate phase separation capacity of a protein. We use this protocol to disrupt phase separation by mutating residues at intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). Further, we rescue the disabled phase separation by fusing an IDR known to drive phase separation. Phase separation promotes cell fate transitions, whereas disruption of phase attenuates the transitions. The major challenge is how to effectively predict mutation residues. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Wang et al. (2021).

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8524243PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100887DOI Listing

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