Abstract
Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a biological phenomenon wherein a metastable and concentrated droplet phase of biomolecules spontaneously forms. A link may exist between LLPS of proteins and the disease-related process of amyloid fibril formation; however, this connection is not fully understood. Here, we investigated the relationship between LLPS and aggregation of the C-terminal domain of TAR DNA-binding protein 43, an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis–related protein known to both phase separate and form amyloids, by monitoring conformational changes during droplet aging using Raman spectroscopy. We found that the earliest aggregation events occurred within droplets as indicated by the development of β-sheet structure and increased thioflavin-T emission. Interestingly, filamentous aggregates appeared outside the solidified droplets at a later time, suggestive that amyloid formation is a heterogeneous process under LLPS solution conditions. Furthermore, the secondary structure content of aggregated structures inside droplets is distinct from that in de novo fibrils, implying that fibril polymorphism develops as a result of different environments (LLPS versus bulk solution), which may have pathological significance.
Highlights
Aggregates can directly emerge from droplets as visualized by atomic force microscopy on dried samples, but how this transition occurs remains ill defined [11]
liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) of Wfree was initiated by buffer exchange; droplets are evident immediately using bright-field microscopy (Fig. 1B, top)
Postaggregation at 48 h, bright-field (Fig. 1B, bottom) images show the persistence of droplets along with large fibrous aggregates, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM; Fig. 1D) reveals the existence of amyloid fibrils
Summary
Lee* From the Laboratory of Protein Conformation and Dynamics, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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