About this Research Topic
Biomolecular condensates spatially and temporally organize cellular matter into membraneless compartments. Biomolecular condensates form via phase transitions driven by interactions among multivalent protein and RNA molecules known as scaffolds. Mutations to scaffold molecules can lead to the dysregulation of biomolecular condensates and are associated with various neurodegenerative diseases and cancers. These results suggest that precise regulation of the formation, dissolution, material properties, and composition of biomolecular condensates is important for proper cellular function.
Over the past 15 years, many crucial advances have been made in terms of identifying biomolecular condensates and their specific scaffold molecules, uncovering the molecular grammars that encode interactions among scaffold molecules that drive condensate formation and control material properties, and developing tools to quantify the phase behavior and material properties of condensates. These advances pave the way for the next set of questions regarding the regulation of biomolecular condensates. A current open question is how does the specific binding of ligands, small molecules, and protein quality control machinery regulate condensate behavior? To answer this question, quantitative measurements of phase boundaries and material properties in the absence and presence of binding modulators are necessary in order to uncover what degree of changes in condensate behavior manifest in changes in cellular phenotype. Initial progress has been made in identifying properties of ligands that promote or suppress condensate formation, as well as the effect of chaperone binding on condensate behavior. Further discoveries regarding the regulation of biomolecular condensates by binding modulators has direct implications for designing condensate regulating therapeutics.
The scope of this Research Topic is to cover current advances that have been made in answering how biomolecular condensates are regulated by specific binding modulators, as well as set the stage for what future investigations are needed to understand the regulation of biomolecular condensates. We welcome original articles, reviews, and perspectives that cover, but are not limited to, the following themes:
• Regulation of the formation, dissolution, material properties, and composition of biomolecular condensates by the specific binding of ligands, small molecules, or protein quality control machinery
• Theoretical and in silico models for the regulation of biomolecular condensates by binding modulators
• New tools for quantifying phase boundaries and other condensate properties in the absence and presence of binding modulators
• Connecting the extent of changes in phase behavior and material properties to changes in cellular function and / or disease phenotypes
• Application of binding modulators as potential therapeutics, including screens of small molecules on the regulation of phase behavior
Over the past 15 years, many crucial advances have been made in terms of identifying biomolecular condensates and their specific scaffold molecules, uncovering the molecular grammars that encode interactions among scaffold molecules that drive condensate formation and control material properties, and developing tools to quantify the phase behavior and material properties of condensates. These advances pave the way for the next set of questions regarding the regulation of biomolecular condensates. A current open question is how does the specific binding of ligands, small molecules, and protein quality control machinery regulate condensate behavior? To answer this question, quantitative measurements of phase boundaries and material properties in the absence and presence of binding modulators are necessary in order to uncover what degree of changes in condensate behavior manifest in changes in cellular phenotype. Initial progress has been made in identifying properties of ligands that promote or suppress condensate formation, as well as the effect of chaperone binding on condensate behavior. Further discoveries regarding the regulation of biomolecular condensates by binding modulators has direct implications for designing condensate regulating therapeutics.
The scope of this Research Topic is to cover current advances that have been made in answering how biomolecular condensates are regulated by specific binding modulators, as well as set the stage for what future investigations are needed to understand the regulation of biomolecular condensates. We welcome original articles, reviews, and perspectives that cover, but are not limited to, the following themes:
• Regulation of the formation, dissolution, material properties, and composition of biomolecular condensates by the specific binding of ligands, small molecules, or protein quality control machinery
• Theoretical and in silico models for the regulation of biomolecular condensates by binding modulators
• New tools for quantifying phase boundaries and other condensate properties in the absence and presence of binding modulators
• Connecting the extent of changes in phase behavior and material properties to changes in cellular function and / or disease phenotypes
• Application of binding modulators as potential therapeutics, including screens of small molecules on the regulation of phase behavior
Keywords: Ligands, Protein quality control machinery, Chaperones, Small molecules, Phase separation, Binding, Linkage, Biomolecular condensates, Modulators
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