Researchers have shown that the formation of biological condensates affects cellular activity far beyond their immediate vicinity. The results show that they may be a previously missing mechanism by which cells modulate their internal electrochemistry.
And those internal controls, in turn, affect the cellular membrane, which allows these unassuming blobs to affect global traits and outcomes such as resistance to antibiotics.
Previous studies have shown that these blobs can separate or trap together certain proteins and molecules, either hindering or promoting their activity. They have also revealed that these structures provide an alternative energy source that might power some aspects of biological chemistry. "This is likely just the tip of the iceberg," added Ashutosh Chilkoti, the Alan L. Kaganov Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke."We expect that these electric potential effects express themselves in a wide variety of ways through cellular behaviors."
"Even a tiny number of these condensates centrally distributed well away from the cell membrane can create a chain reaction that can change this global property," explained Yifan Dai, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and a member of the Center for Biomolecular Condensates at Washington University in St. Louis, who conducted the research as a postdoctoral researcher at Duke."This paper shows there is no escape from these effects.
"Our work uncovers a role of condensates in regulating global cellular physiology," You said."While we don't yet have a concrete mechanistic understanding of how cells are deploying this activity to regulate their functionality, it's a major discovery that it's happening at all."
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