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Updated: Dec 21, 2025
10:08
Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: October 24, 2017
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Composition-dependent thermodynamics of intracellular phase separation.
Joshua A Riback1, Lian Zhu1, Mylene C Ferrolino2
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
Nature
|May 15, 2020
Summary
Intracellular condensates form via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), but do not have a fixed saturation concentration. Instead, multicomponent interactions drive LLPS, allowing for tunable condensate composition and function.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Membraneless organelles form via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS).
- LLPS is thought to be driven by homotypic interactions and a fixed saturation concentration.
- This fixed concentration model is largely untested in complex cellular environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of multicomponent interactions in endogenous LLPS.
- To determine if intracellular condensates exhibit a fixed saturation concentration.
- To establish a thermodynamic framework for understanding condensate formation and function.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of endogenous condensates in living cells.
- Quantification of component partitioning and concentration changes.
- Thermodynamic modeling of biomolecular interactions.
Main Results:
- Endogenous LLPS is dominated by heterotypic interactions, not a fixed saturation concentration.
- Condensate composition is finely tuned by the thermodynamics of protein and RNA interactions.
- Selective exclusion of assembled complexes, like ribonucleoprotein complexes, from nucleoli was observed.
Conclusions:
- Intracellular condensates do not possess a fixed saturation concentration.
- Heterotypic interactions are key drivers of LLPS in cells.
- This work provides a thermodynamic basis for condensate behavior and function, applicable to various organelles.
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