Jiang Lifei, Kang Yibin
Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Princeton Branch, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Cancer Metabolism and Growth Program, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA.
Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer. 2025 Feb;1880(1):189245. doi: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2024.189245. Epub 2024 Dec 13.
Cells are compartmentalized into different organelles to ensure precise spatial temporal control and efficient operation of cellular processes. Membraneless organelles, also known as biomolecular condensates, are emerging as previously underappreciated ways of organizing cellular functions. Condensates allow local concentration of protein, RNA, or DNA molecules with shared functions, thus facilitating spatiotemporal control of biochemical reactions spanning a range of cellular processes. Studies discussed herein have shown that aberrant formation of condensates is associated with various diseases such as cancers. Here, we summarize how condensates mechanistically contribute to malignancy-related cellular processes, including genomic instability, epigenetic rewiring, oncogenic transcriptional activation, and signaling. An improved understanding of condensate formation and dissolution will enable development of new cancer therapies. Finally, we address the remaining challenges in the field and suggest future efforts to better integrate condensates into cancer research.
细胞被分隔成不同的细胞器，以确保细胞过程的精确时空控制和高效运作。无膜细胞器，也称为生物分子凝聚物，正作为一种先前未被充分认识的组织细胞功能的方式而崭露头角。凝聚物允许具有共同功能的蛋白质、RNA或DNA分子局部浓缩，从而促进对一系列细胞过程中生化反应的时空控制。本文讨论的研究表明，凝聚物的异常形成与各种疾病如癌症相关。在这里，我们总结了凝聚物如何在机制上促进与恶性肿瘤相关的细胞过程，包括基因组不稳定、表观遗传重编程、致癌转录激活和信号传导。对凝聚物形成和溶解的更好理解将有助于开发新的癌症治疗方法。最后，我们阐述了该领域仍然存在的挑战，并建议未来做出努力，以便更好地将凝聚物整合到癌症研究中。
