Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41022842›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

In situ secondary structure imaging of protein phase separation and aggregation by hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering microscopy.

Ruifeng Sun, Yanrong Zhuang, Yi Lin, Fanghao Hu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing 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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. MultilevelCurrent research in structural biology · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Ruifeng SunDepartment of Chemistry, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Yanrong ZhuangState Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Centre for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Yi LinState Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Centre for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. linyi@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5294-0692
Fanghao HuDepartment of Chemistry, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. hufanghao@tsinghua.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8659-4027

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 22174085National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32350027
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Biomolecular condensates enable the coordination of cellular activities with high spatiotemporal selectivity. Many techniques have been developed to characterize protein condensate. However, direct visualization of protein structure in phase-separated condensate remains underexplored. Here we develop in situ quantitative imaging of secondary structure in protein condensates by stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy. Characteristic spectra of four secondary structures are obtained from protein amide I vibration analysis. Hyperspectral SRS imaging reveals significant enrichments and disordered to ordered structural changes during phase separation of ALS-related proteins. Time-lapse imaging of protein aging process directly visualizes heterogeneous β-sheet formation on the condensate surface. And secondary structures of mutant proteins are imaged to correlate amino acid sequence to phase separation property. Live-cell label-free imaging of protein structure is further demonstrated to exhibit pronounced heterogeneity in subcellular aggregates. Therefore, our technique provides crucial molecular-level information to investigate protein phase separation and its transition in pathological aggregation.

Indexed as

Biomolecular CondensatesNonlinear Optical MicroscopyProtein AggregatesProteinsSpectrum Analysis, RamanHumansPhase SeparationProtein Structure, SecondaryProtein AggregatesProteins

Identifiers

PMID41022842
PMCPMC12479984

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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.