Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42225627›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Electrostatic bimodality of human cytosolic DNA sensor cGAS-dsDNA condensates revealed by millisecond flashing electrophoretic separation.

Xiaoting Ling, Xingrui Song, Dapeng Zhang, Weiyi Lai, Cong Liu, Guibin Jiang, Qiang Zhao, Hailin Wang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

8 authors.

Xiaoting LingState Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Xingrui SongState Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Dapeng ZhangState Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Weiyi LaiState Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Cong LiuInterdisciplinary Research Center on Biology and Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3425-6672
Guibin JiangState Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Qiang ZhaoState Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. qiangzhao@rcees.ac.cn.
Hailin WangState Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. hlwang@rcees.ac.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1843-999X

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 22234008 and 22274166
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Electrostatic landscapes within biomolecular condensates are critical regulators of their structural stability and functional plasticity. To quantitatively resolve these elusive electrical signatures, we develop a millisecond Flashing Electrophoretic Separation (msFES) platform enabling nanoliter-scale profiling of biomolecular condensates at near single-droplet resolution-with a focus on zeta potential characterization. Applying msFES to condensates formed by human cytosolic DNA sensor cGAS (hcGAS) and DNA, we unexpectedly discover an intrinsic electrostatic heterogeneity: droplets formed from identical components under identical conditions exhibit two distinct zeta-potential populations. This heterogeneity dictates differential susceptibility to TREX1, an exonuclease that selectively disassembles negatively charged droplets while sparing or amplifying positively charged assemblies, thereby potentially modulating cGAS activation. Pathogenic hcGAS variants (K432T, G303E) disrupt this electrostatic control, rendering hcGAS-DNA droplets hypersensitive to TREX1-mediated DNA degradation. msFES thus uncovers a hidden layer of charge-based regulation in phase-separated systems, potentially linking condensate biophysics to innate immune control.

Indexed as

Biomolecular CondensatesCytosolDNAElectrophoresisNucleotidyltransferasescGAS-STING Signaling PathwayCyclic Guanosine Monophosphate-Adenosine Monophosphate SynthaseExodeoxyribonucleasesHumansPhase SeparationPhosphoproteinsStatic ElectricitycGAS protein, humanCyclic Guanosine Monophosphate-Adenosine Monophosphate SynthaseDNAExodeoxyribonucleasesNucleotidyltransferasesPhosphoproteinsthree prime repair exonuclease 1

Identifiers

PMID42225627
PMCPMC13392432

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

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.