Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS AND VIEWS

Protein condensation regulates water availability in cells

Proteins can condense to form membraneless organelles, which act as vessels for biochemical reactions in cells. An investigation shows that protein condensation is also a cellular mechanism for controlling water availability.
  1. J. Pedro de Souza

    1. J. Pedro de Souza is at the Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

  2. Howard A. Stone

    1. Howard A. Stone is in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Cells maintain an internal pool of water that is essential for biological processes. Moreover, they need to regulate this water supply quickly in response to environmental challenges that affect water availability — such as high temperatures or imbalances of dissolved molecules — to prevent damage and maintain their normal functions. Writing in Nature, Watson et al.1 show that subcellular-scale phase transitions involving the condensation of proteins and the redistribution of water molecules2 can enable such rapid responses.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 623, 698-699 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03098-z

References

  1. Watson, J. L. et al. Nature 623, 842–852 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Ribeiro, S. S., Samanta, N., Ebbinghaus, S. & Marcos, J. C. Nature Rev. Chem. 3, 552–561 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Hoffmann, E. K., Lambert, I. H. & Pedersen, S. F. Physiol. Rev. 89, 193–277 (2009).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Privalov, P. L. & Crane-Robinson, C. Eur. Biophys. J. 46, 203–224 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Banani, S. F., Lee, H. O., Hyman, A. A. & Rosen, M. K. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 18, 285–298 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Pappu, R. V., Cohen, S. R., Dar, F., Farag, M. & Kar, M. Chem. Rev. 123, 8945–8987 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Reichheld, S. E., Muiznieks, L. D., Keeley, F. W. & Sharpe, S. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 114, E4408–E4415 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. McSwiggen, D. T., Mir, M., Darzacq, X. & Tjian, R. Genes Dev. 33, 1619–1634 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Wennerström, H., Vallina Estrada, E., Danielsson, J. & Oliveberg, M. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 117, 10113–10121 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links