Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30500534›Full record

ArticleCell2018

Mapping Local and Global Liquid Phase Behavior in Living Cells Using Photo-Oligomerizable Seeds.

Dan Bracha, Mackenzie T Walls, Ming-Tzo Wei, Lian Zhu, Martin Kurian, José L Avalos, Jared E Toettcher, Clifford P Brangwynne

Erratum issuedAbstract readVideo-Audio Media
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cell, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 258 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
258citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

258 citing papers in PubMed.

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  15. Chemical reviews · 2026
    Review
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198 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Dan BrachaDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Mackenzie T WallsDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Ming-Tzo WeiDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Lian ZhuDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Martin KurianDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
José L AvalosDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Jared E ToettcherDepartment of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Clifford P BrangwynneDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Lewis Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. Electronic address: cbrangwy@princeton.edu.

Funding

Harnessing optogenetics to diagnose and therapeutically rewire cancer cell signalingDP2EB024247 · NIBIB · PRINCETON UNIVERSITY · PI TOETTCHER, JARED E · 2016 to 2016
$2.4M
Optogenetic Droplets: Using Light to Control Nucleoplasmic Phase SeparationU01DA040601 · NIDA · PRINCETON UNIVERSITY · PI BRANGWYNNE, CLIFFORD P · 2015 to 2019
$1.4M
Howard Hughes Medical InstituteNIBIB NIH HHS DP2 EB024247NIDA NIH HHS U01 DA040601
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Liquid-liquid phase separation plays a key role in the assembly of diverse intracellular structures. However, the biophysical principles by which phase separation can be precisely localized within subregions of the cell are still largely unclear, particularly for low-abundance proteins. Here, we introduce an oligomerizing biomimetic system, "Corelets," and utilize its rapid and quantitative light-controlled tunability to map full intracellular phase diagrams, which dictate the concentrations at which phase separation occurs and the transition mechanism, in a protein sequence dependent manner. Surprisingly, both experiments and simulations show that while intracellular concentrations may be insufficient for global phase separation, sequestering protein ligands to slowly diffusing nucleation centers can move the cell into a different region of the phase diagram, resulting in localized phase separation. This diffusive capture mechanism liberates the cell from the constraints of global protein abundance and is likely exploited to pattern condensates associated with diverse biological processes. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Indexed as

Biomimetic MaterialsAnimalsCytoplasmHEK293 CellsHeLa CellsHumansMiceMicroscopy, FluorescenceNIH 3T3 Cellsbinodalcondensationliquid-liquid phase separationmembraneless organellesmultivalent interactionsoligomerizationoptogeneticsphase diagramprotein disorderspinodal decomposition

Identifiers

PMID30500534
PMCPMC6724719

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.