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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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms222312758 | DOI Listing |
Mol Cell
January 2025
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. Electronic address:
Pre-mRNA 3' processing is an integral step in mRNA biogenesis. However, where this process occurs in the nucleus remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that nuclear speckles (NSs), membraneless organelles enriched with splicing factors, are major sites for pre-mRNA 3' processing in human cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Biol
January 2025
Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Medicine, Ein-Kerem Campus, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel; Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada (IMRIC), Ein-Kerem Campus, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel. Electronic address:
Vertebrate oocyte polarity has been observed for two centuries and is essential for embryonic axis formation and germline specification, yet its underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In oocyte polarization, critical RNA-protein (RNP) granules delivered to the oocyte's vegetal pole are stored by the Balbiani body (Bb), a membraneless organelle conserved across species from insects to humans. However, the mechanisms of Bb formation are still unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell
January 2025
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA; Center for Biomolecular Condensates, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA. Electronic address:
In a recently published article in Device, Saehyun Kim et al. report that selective excitation of bacteria can inhibit their proliferation in an antibiotic-free manner. We herein discuss the molecular and thermodynamic principles underlying this "selective excitability," which provides a new aspect to understand bacterial physiology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Adv
January 2025
Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
Hedgehog (Hh) morphogen governs embryonic development and tissue homeostasis through the Ci/Gli family transcription factors. Here we report that Hh induces phase separation of the fused (Fu)/Ulk family kinases to allosterically regulate Ci/Gli. We find that Hh-induced phosphorylation of Fu/Ulk3 promotes SUMOylation of their inverted phosphorylation-dependent SUMOylation motifs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci China Life Sci
December 2024
New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Epigenetic Regulation and Intervention, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences-University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
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