Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
Science. 2017 Sep 22;357(6357). doi: 10.1126/science.aaf4382.
Phase transitions are ubiquitous in nonliving matter, and recent discoveries have shown that they also play a key role within living cells. Intracellular liquid-liquid phase separation is thought to drive the formation of condensed liquid-like droplets of protein, RNA, and other biomolecules, which form in the absence of a delimiting membrane. Recent studies have elucidated many aspects of the molecular interactions underlying the formation of these remarkable and ubiquitous droplets and the way in which such interactions dictate their material properties, composition, and phase behavior. Here, we review these exciting developments and highlight key remaining challenges, particularly the ability of liquid condensates to both facilitate and respond to biological function and how their metastability may underlie devastating protein aggregation diseases.
相变在非生命物质中无处不在，最近的发现表明它们在活细胞内也起着关键作用。细胞内液-液相分离被认为是驱动蛋白质、RNA 和其他生物分子形成凝聚的类似液体的液滴的原因，而这些液滴的形成不需要有界膜。最近的研究阐明了形成这些显著的、普遍存在的液滴的分子相互作用的许多方面，以及这些相互作用如何决定它们的物质特性、组成和相行为。在这里，我们回顾这些令人兴奋的发展，并强调关键的遗留挑战，特别是液滴如何既能促进又能响应生物功能，以及它们的亚稳性如何可能是破坏性的蛋白质聚集疾病的基础。
