Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and the Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
ACS Macro Lett. 2022 Sep 20;11(9):1107-1111. doi: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.2c00409. Epub 2022 Aug 25.
The membraneless organelles (MLOs) play a key role in the cell, yet it is unclear what controls the morphology and dynamics of MLOs in crowded cell medium. Using a biphasic coacervate droplet as a model of MLO, we online monitored the liquid-liquid phase separation process in crowded medium provided by poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) or dextran. In PEO solution, which has an affinity with the inner phase, the spherical droplets evolve into clusters, networks, and completely phase inverted spheres in sequence with increasing PEO concentration, while in dextran solution, which has an affinity with the outer phase, the coacervates maintain the morphology but vary in phase ratio. Flower-like and even Janus structures are formed in the mixed PEO/dextran medium. Our work demonstrates that MLOs could be controlled solely by the crowded cell medium.
无膜细胞器（MLOs）在细胞中起着关键作用，但目前尚不清楚是什么控制了拥挤的细胞培养基中 MLO 的形态和动态。本文使用双相聚集体液滴作为 MLO 的模型，在线监测了由聚（环氧乙烷）（PEO）或葡聚糖提供的拥挤介质中的液-液相分离过程。在与内相有亲和力的 PEO 溶液中，随着 PEO 浓度的增加，球形液滴依次演变成簇、网络和完全相反转的球体，而在与外相有亲和力的葡聚糖溶液中，凝聚物保持形态但相比例发生变化。在混合的 PEO/葡聚糖介质中形成了花状甚至是双节的结构。我们的工作表明，MLO 可以仅通过拥挤的细胞培养基来控制。
