Thermodynamic Stability of hnRNP A1 Low Complexity Domain Revealed by High-Pressure NMR

Abstract

Low-complexity (LC) domains found in RNA-binding proteins associated with liquid-liquid phase separation form a specific class of intrinsically disordered domains. LC domains have distinct amino acid compositions; they are enriched in polar amino acids (especially Ser and Gly), and feature conserved patterns of aromatic residues. in many cases, these disordered LC domains are necessary and sufficient for driving phase separation. Liquid condensates are believed to be the result of multivalent weak interactions between multiple interacting motifs in LC domains, including electrostatic, cation-pi and pi-pi interactions.