ArticleThe EMBO journal2022
Molecular crowding and RNA synergize to promote phase separation, microtubule interaction, and seeding of Tau condensates.
Article in The EMBO journal, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers.
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Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 88 citations in OpenAlex.
- Site-specific phosphorylation of Ser352 drives aggregation of Tau R4 under acidosis conditions.Chemical science · 2026Article
- Characterization of Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation of Companion of Cellulose Synthases under Stress Mimicking Conditions.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Molecular Crowding Stabilizes DNA Coacervate Droplets and Generates Self-Organized Characteristic Patterns.JACS Au · 2026Article
- Lipid droplets promote aberrant liquid-liquid phase separation of alpha-synuclein impairing energy homeostasis.EMBO reports · 2026Article
- Riboregulation: a non-canonical tau function.Molecular neurodegeneration · 2026Review
- Cinnamon Bud Extract Is a Source of Biomolecules Active against the Aggregation and Condensation of Alzheimer's-Associated Tau Protein.Journal of agricultural and food chemistry · 2026Article
- Tubulin transforms Tau and α-synuclein condensates from pathological to physiological.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Nuclear tau aggregates inhibit RNA export and form by secondary seeding from cytosolic tau aggregates.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Decoupling phase separation and fibrillization preserves activity of biomolecular condensates.Nature communications · 2026Article
- MicroRNA-29a-5p contributes to neuroinflammation through TLR7.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- Tau condensation on DNA mediates microtubule attachment suggesting a mitotic role for centromere-localized tau.Nature communications · 2026Article
- MicroRNAs and Long Non-Coding RNAs Affect the Mechanisms Involved in Age-Related Neurodegeneration in a Manner Depending on RNA-Binding Proteins.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- From dynamic condensates to pathological assemblies: the phase behavior of tau andFrontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Review
- Direct interaction between TDP-43 and Tau promotes their co-condensation, while suppressing Tau fibril formation and seeding.The EMBO journal · 2025Article
- Lipid droplets promote the aberrant liquid-liquid phase separation of alpha-synuclein leading to impaired energy homeostasis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Conformational dynamics, RNA binding, and phase separation regulate the multifunctionality of rabies virus P protein.Nature communications · 2025Article
- A coarse-grained model for disordered proteins under crowded conditions.Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society · 2025Article
- Stoichiometric 14-3-3ζ binding promotes phospho-Tau microtubule dissociation and reduces aggregation and condensation.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Rational Modulation of Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation Offers Novel Ways to Combat Tauopathies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Chaperone-Mediated Regulation of Tau Phase Separation, Fibrillation, and Toxicity.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Biomolecular condensation of the neuronal microtubule-associated protein Tau (MAPT) can be induced by coacervation with polyanions like RNA, or by molecular crowding. Tau condensates have been linked to both functional microtubule binding and pathological aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases. We find that molecular crowding and coacervation with RNA, two conditions likely coexisting in the cytosol, synergize to enable Tau condensation at physiological buffer conditions and to produce condensates with a strong affinity to charged surfaces. During condensate-mediated microtubule polymerization, their synergy enhances bundling and spatial arrangement of microtubules. We further show that different Tau condensates efficiently induce pathological Tau aggregates in cells, including accumulations at the nuclear envelope that correlate with nucleocytoplasmic transport deficits. Fluorescent lifetime imaging reveals different molecular packing densities of Tau in cellular accumulations and a condensate-like density for nuclear-envelope Tau. These findings suggest that a complex interplay between interaction partners, post-translational modifications, and molecular crowding regulates the formation and function of Tau condensates. Conditions leading to prolonged existence of Tau condensates may induce the formation of seeding-competent Tau and lead to distinct cellular Tau accumulations.
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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.