Department of Pharmacology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Zuckerman Mind, Brain, Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027.
J Neurosci. 2021 Feb 3;41(5):834-844. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1656-20.2020. Epub 2021 Jan 20.
Molecules within cells are segregated into functional domains to form various organelles. While some of those organelles are delimited by lipid membranes demarcating their constituents, others lack a membrane enclosure. Recently, liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) revolutionized our view of how segregation of macromolecules can produce membraneless organelles. While the concept of LLPS has been well studied in the areas of soft matter physics and polymer chemistry, its significance has only recently been recognized in the field of biology. It occurs typically between macromolecules that have multivalent interactions. Interestingly, these features are present in many molecules that exert key functions within neurons. In this review, we cover recent topics of LLPS in different contexts of neuronal physiology and pathology.
细胞内的分子被分隔成功能域，形成各种细胞器。虽然其中一些细胞器由脂质膜界定其组成成分，但其他细胞器则没有膜包围。最近，液-液相分离（LLPS）改变了我们对大分子如何分隔形成无膜细胞器的看法。虽然 LLPS 的概念在软物质物理学和聚合物化学领域已经得到了很好的研究，但它在生物学领域的重要性直到最近才被认识到。它通常发生在具有多价相互作用的大分子之间。有趣的是，这些特征存在于许多在神经元中发挥关键功能的分子中。在这篇综述中，我们涵盖了 LLPS 在神经元生理学和病理学不同背景下的最新研究进展。
