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Protein droplets spread to seal tight junctions

Cells that form tissue barriers rely on cell–cell contacts called tight junctions. These structures assemble from protein condensates that spread along the cell membrane like a water droplet spreading over glass.
  1. Alexander Ludwig

    1. Alexander Ludwig is in the School of Biological Sciences and NTU Institute of Structural Biology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 636921, Singapore.

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Cells compartmentalize biochemical reactions not only in membrane-bounded organelles, but also through the formation of droplet-like macromolecular condensates. Condensates arise through a process called liquid–liquid phase separation, which is driven by weak and multivalent (occurring at multiple sites) interactions between proteins, or between proteins and nucleic acids. Interestingly, when condensates come into contact with cell membranes, a phenomenon known as wetting is observed. The term refers to the way in which a liquid spreads over a 2D surface, much as a water droplet spreads over glass. Wetting shapes and remodels membranes and has been implicated in a broad range of biological processes1,2. Writing in Nature, Pombo-García et al.3 report that wetting underlies the formation of specialized connections, called tight junctions, between cells.

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Nature 632, 506-507 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02234-7

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Competing Interests

The author declares no conflicts of interest.

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