论文标题
弹性在调节细胞中液态液相中的关键作用
The crucial role of elasticity in regulating liquid-liquid phase separation in cells
论文作者
论文摘要
液 - 液相分离已成为细胞内组织的基本机制，并有证据表明它在许多不同的系统中都有报道。然而，人们对研究相分离的技术缺乏定量严格的关注以及它们考虑细胞环境的复杂性质的能力，这会影响重要的实验可观察到的措施，例如形状，大小和液滴的运输动力学。在这里，我们通过将最新的实验数据与理论预测相结合来弥合这一差距，从而捕获非线性弹性和流体转运的微妙之处。我们表明，在生物学上可访问的材料参数范围内，相位分离对弹性特性高度敏感，因此可以用作机械切换，以在细胞系统中不同状态之间快速过渡。此外，我们表明，这种主动机械介导的机制可以在生物学相关的时间范围内推动跨细胞的运输，并且在促进冷凝水的空间定位中起着至关重要的作用。细胞是否利用这种机制来运输其成分，仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。
Liquid-liquid phase separation has emerged as a fundamental mechanism underlying intracellular organization, with evidence for it being reported in numerous different systems. However, there is a growing concern regarding the lack of quantitative rigor in the techniques employed to study phase separation, and their ability to account for the complex nature of the cellular milieu, which affects key experimentally observable measures, such as the shape, size and transport dynamics of liquid droplets. Here we bridge this gap by combining recent experimental data with theoretical predictions that capture the subtleties of nonlinear elasticity and fluid transport. We show that within a biologically accessible range of material parameters, phase separation is highly sensitive to elastic properties and can thus be used as a mechanical switch to rapidly transition between different states in cellular systems. Furthermore, we show that this active mechanically mediated mechanism can drive transport across cells at biologically relevant timescales and could play a crucial role in promoting spatial localization of condensates; whether cells exploit such mechanisms for transport of their constituents, remains an open question.
