近日，美国杜克大学Lingchong You等研究人员合作发现，生物大分子凝聚体调节细胞电化学平衡。2024年9月10日，国际知名学术期刊《细胞》在线发表了这一成果。

研究人员展示了生物大分子凝聚体的形成可以调节细菌细胞的电化学环境，从而广泛影响细胞过程。凝聚体的形成产生电位梯度，直接影响细胞的电化学特性，包括细胞质pH值和膜电位。凝聚体的形成还通过被动的环境效应放大了细胞间电化学特性的变异性。

电化学平衡的调节进一步控制了细胞与环境的相互作用，进而直接影响细菌在抗生素压力下的存活。凝聚体介导的细胞内电化学平衡变化驱动了全局基因表达谱的改变。该研究揭示了凝聚体的生化功能，其作用不仅限于驱动和参与凝聚体形成的生物分子，还发现了凝聚体在调节细胞全局生理中的作用。

据介绍，活细胞中电化学环境的控制通常归因于离子通道。

附：英文原文

Title: Biomolecular condensates regulate cellular electrochemical equilibria

Author: Yifan Dai, Zhengqing Zhou, Wen Yu, Yuefeng Ma, Kyeri Kim, Nelson Rivera, Javid Mohammed, Erica Lantelme, Heileen Hsu-Kim, Ashutosh Chilkoti, Lingchong You

Issue&Volume: 2024-09-10

Abstract: Control of the electrochemical environment in living cells is typically attributed to ion channels. Here, we show that the formation of biomolecular condensates can modulate the electrochemical environment in bacterial cells, which affects cellular processes globally. Condensate formation generates an electric potential gradient, which directly affects the electrochemical properties of a cell, including cytoplasmic pH and membrane potential. Condensate formation also amplifies cell-cell variability of their electrochemical properties due to passive environmental effect. The modulation of the electrochemical equilibria further controls cell-environment interactions, thus directly influencing bacterial survival under antibiotic stress. The condensate-mediated shift in intracellular electrochemical equilibria drives a change of the global gene expression profile. Our work reveals the biochemical functions of condensates, which extend beyond the functions of biomolecules driving and participating in condensate formation, and uncovers a role of condensates in regulating global cellular physiology.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.08.018

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(24)00909-7