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Journal ArticleDOI

The neglected functions of intrinsically disordered proteins and the origin of life.

01 Jul 2017-Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology (Pergamon)-Vol. 126, pp 31-46
TL;DR: Ling's theory is a complete quantitative theory with corroborated equations for solute distribution, transport, cell potentials and osmotic behaviour and describing the cell's energy cycle and IDP's are involved in all this.
Abstract: The example of gelatine shows that extended proteins behave quite differently than globular ones: with water they form a gel. Historically the colloid view of protoplasm was discredited in favour of membrane-(pump)-theory (MPT), but unjustified. In his association-induction hypothesis Ling demonstrates that MPT is full of contradictions and that the colloid view has to be re-considered. In that case IDP's play a crucial role in this. What Ling calls the ‘living state’ consists of the unitary protoplasmic structure from which it was experimentally demonstrated that it can survive and keep Na+ and K+ concentrations without a delineating membrane. It consists of unfolded polypeptide chains whereby the repetitive backbone peptide groups orient and polarise many layers of water, in which Na+ and other solutes have reduced solubility and whereby the polypeptide β- and ϒ-carboxyl-groups adsorb K+. This ‘associated’ state is the resting state: a coherent high-energy low-entropy meta-stable state. It can be kept by adsorbed ATP (NTP) eventually for years without consumption of ATP as demonstrated by Clegg on Artemia embryo's. Stimuli can transform this state into a lower-energy higher-entropy action state with dissociation of ADP and Pi and newly synthesised ATP can reinstall it. Rest-to-action and action-to-rest were shown to be real phase-shifts. Ling's theory is a complete quantitative theory with corroborated equations for solute distribution, transport, cell potentials and osmotic behaviour and describing the cell's energy cycle. IDP's are involved in all this. The new view on IDP's leads to new insights on the origin of life.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An emerging all‐aqueous microfluidic technology derived from micrometer‐scaled manipulation of LLPS is presented and enables the state‐of‐art design of advanced biomaterials with exquisite structural proficiency and diversified biological functions.
Abstract: Living cells have evolved over billions of years to develop structural and functional complexity with numerous intracellular compartments that are formed due to liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). Discovery of the amazing and vital roles of cells in life has sparked tremendous efforts to investigate and replicate the intracellular LLPS. Among them, all-aqueous emulsions are a minimalistic liquid model that recapitulates the structural and functional features of membraneless organelles and protocells. Here, an emerging all-aqueous microfluidic technology derived from micrometer-scaled manipulation of LLPS is presented; the technology enables the state-of-art design of advanced biomaterials with exquisite structural proficiency and diversified biological functions. Moreover, a variety of emerging biomedical applications, including encapsulation and delivery of bioactive gradients, fabrication of artificial membraneless organelles, as well as printing and assembly of predesigned cell patterns and living tissues, are inspired by their cellular counterparts. Finally, the challenges and perspectives for further advancing the cell-inspired all-aqueous microfluidics toward a more powerful and versatile platform are discussed, particularly regarding new opportunities in multidisciplinary fundamental research and biomedical applications.

98 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The emerging picture suggests that despite being major constituents of the dark matter, IDPs may be the dark horse in the protein universe.
Abstract: A good portion of the 'protein universe' embodies the 'dark proteome' The latter comprises proteins not amenable to experimental structure determination by existing means and inaccessible to homology modeling Hence, the dark proteome has remained largely unappreciated Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) that lack rigid 3D structure are a major component of this dark proteome across all three kingdoms of life Despite lack of structure, IDPs play critical roles in numerous important biological processes Furthermore, IDPs serve as crucial constituents of proteinaceous membrane-less organelles (PMLOs), where they often serve as drivers and controllers of biological liquid-liquid phase transitions responsible for the PMLO biogenesis In this perspective, the role of IDPs is discussed in i) the origin of prebiotic life and the evolution of the first independent primordial living unit akin to Tibor Ganti's chemoton, which preceded the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA), ii) role in multicellularity and hence, in major evolutionary transitions, and iii), their role in phenotypic switching, and the emergence of new traits and adaptive opportunities via non-genetic, protein-based mechanisms The emerging picture suggests that despite being major constituents of the dark matter, IDPs may be the dark horse in the protein universe

65 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This focused Review discusses how IDPs, as critical components of the wetware, influence cell-fate decisions by wiring protein interaction networks to keep them minimally frustrated and explores the possibility that they can be modeled as attractors.
Abstract: Despite the wealth of knowledge gained about intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) since their discovery, there are several aspects that remain unexplored and, hence, poorly understood. A living cell is a complex adaptive system that can be described as a wetware─a metaphor used to describe the cell as a computer comprising both hardware and software and attuned to logic gates─capable of "making" decisions. In this focused Review, we discuss how IDPs, as critical components of the wetware, influence cell-fate decisions by wiring protein interaction networks to keep them minimally frustrated. Because IDPs lie between order and chaos, we explore the possibility that they can be modeled as attractors. Further, we discuss how the conformational dynamics of IDPs manifests itself as conformational noise, which can potentially amplify transcriptional noise to stochastically switch cellular phenotypes. Finally, we explore the potential role of IDPs in prebiotic evolution, in forming proteinaceous membrane-less organelles, in the origin of multicellularity, and in protein conformation-based transgenerational inheritance of acquired characteristics. Together, these ideas provide a new conceptual framework to discern how IDPs may perform critical biological functions despite their lack of structure.

27 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The evidence is given that the first protocells may have been formed on the basis of intrinsically disordered peptides, and available data on the similarity of the physical properties of cell models and living cells allow the Virchow's postulate to be rephrase as follows.
Abstract: Cell theory, as formulated by Theodor Schwann in 1839, introduced the idea that the cell is the main structural unit of living nature. Later, in solving the problem of cell multiplication, Rudolf Virchow expanded the cell theory with a postulate: all cells only arise from pre-existing cells. But what did the very first cell arise from? This paper proposes extending the Virchow's law by the assumption that between the nonliving protocell and the first living cell the continuity of fundamental physical properties (the principle of invariance of physical properties) is preserved. The protocell is understood here as a cell-shaped physical system on the basis of the self-organized biologically significant prebiotic macromolecules, primarily peptides, having a potential to transform into the living cell. Biophase is considered as the physical basis of the membraneless protocell, the internal environment of which is separated from the external environment due to the phase of adsorbed water. The evidence is given that the first protocells may have been formed on the basis of intrinsically disordered peptides. Data on the similarity of the physical properties of living cells and the following model systems are given: protein and artificial polymer solutions, coacervate droplets, and ion-exchange resin granules. Available data on the similarity of the physical properties of cell models and living cells allow us to rephrase the Virchow's postulate as follows: the physical properties of a living cell could only arise from pre-existing physical properties of the protocell.

25 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results support the view that the extent of intracellular water dipolar relaxation is regulated by the ability of cytoplasmic proteins to polarize intrACEllular water with the assistance of ATP, as suggested in the Association-Induction (AI) hypothesis.
Abstract: Water is involved in all aspects of biological activity, both as a solvent and as a reactant. It is hypothesized that intracellular water is in a highly structured state due to the high concentrations of macromolecules in the cell and that this may change the activity of intracellular enzymes due to altered binding affinities and allosteric regulations. Here we first investigate the kinetics of two glycolytic enzymes in artificially crowded aqueous solutions and show that crowding does indeed change their kinetics. Based on our kinetic measurements we propose a new model of oscillating glycolysis that instead of Michaelis–Menten or Monod–Wyman–Changeux kinetics uses the Yang–Ling adsorption isotherm introduced by G. Ling in the frame of the Association-Induction (AI) hypothesis. Using this model, we can reproduce previous experimental observations of the coupling of glycolytic oscillations and intracellular water dynamics, e.g., (i) during the metabolic oscillations, the latter variable oscillates in phase with ATP activity, and (ii) the emergence of glycolytic oscillations largely depends on the extent of intracellular water dipolar relaxation in cells in the resting state. Our results support the view that the extent of intracellular water dipolar relaxation is regulated by the ability of cytoplasmic proteins to polarize intracellular water with the assistance of ATP, as suggested in the AI hypothesis. This hypothesis may be relevant to the interpretation of many other biological oscillators, including cell signalling processes.

16 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Many gene sequences in eukaryotic genomes encode entire proteins or large segments of proteins that lack a well-structured three-dimensional fold, whereas others constitute flexible linkers that have a role in the assembly of macromolecular arrays.
Abstract: Many gene sequences in eukaryotic genomes encode entire proteins or large segments of proteins that lack a well-structured three-dimensional fold. Disordered regions can be highly conserved between species in both composition and sequence and, contrary to the traditional view that protein function equates with a stable three-dimensional structure, disordered regions are often functional, in ways that we are only beginning to discover. Many disordered segments fold on binding to their biological targets (coupled folding and binding), whereas others constitute flexible linkers that have a role in the assembly of macromolecular arrays.

3,599 citations

Book
01 Jan 1993

3,272 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Many proteins that lack intrinsic globular structure under physiological conditions have now been recognized, and it appears likely that their rapid turnover, aided by their unstructured nature in the unbound state, provides a level of control that allows rapid and accurate responses of the cell to changing environmental conditions.

2,804 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An automatic method for recognizing natively disordered regions from amino acid sequence is described and benchmarked against predictors that were assessed at the latest critical assessment of techniques for protein structure prediction (CASP) experiment and represents a statistically significant improvement on the methods evaluated on the same targets at CASP.

1,946 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Jens Chr. Skou1
TL;DR: Leg nerves from the shore crab contain an adenosine triphosphatase which is located in the submicroscopic particles, and the influence of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium ions on this enzyme has been investigated.
Abstract: Leg nerves from the shore crab (Carcinus maenas) contain an adenosine triphosphatase which is located in the submicroscopic particles. The influence of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium ions on this enzyme has been investigated. The presence of magnesium ions is an obligatory requirement for the activity of the enzyme. Sodium ions increase the activity when magnesium ions are present. Potassium ions increase the activity when the system contains both magnesium and sodium ions. Potassium ions in high concentration inhibit that part of the activity which is due to Na+, while the activity due to Mg++ is not affected. Calcium ions inhibit the enzyme under all conditions. When Mg++ or Mg++ + Na+ are present in the system, the optimum magnesium concentration is equal to the concentration of ATP. If potassium ions are added, the optimum magnesium concentration is doubled. If calcium ions are also added, the optimum magnesium concentration becomes still higher, and it increases with the calcium concentration. A majority of these observations may be explained by assuming (a) that the substrate most readily attacked by the enzyme is sodium-magnesium-ATP, (b) that potassium ions stimulate the enzyme directly, and (c) that an increase in the concentration of potassium ions leads to a displacement of sodium ions from the substrate and accordingly to an inhibition of the reaction. If the system contains the four cations in concentrations roughly equal to those in the crab-nerve axoplasm, an increase in the sodium concentration as well as a decrease in the potassium concentration will lead to an intensification of the enzyme activity. This observation, as well as some other characteristics of the system, suggest that the adenosine triphosphatase studied here may be involved in the active extrusion of sodium from the nerve fibre.

1,800 citations