We wrote a short piece to explain the latest technique called LiTEC, developed by Ibrahim C.’s lab, which enables proteomics on hard-to-study endogenous condensates. The original work is published in the latest issue of Cell by Cell Press
How to bring cellular condensates to light? With the new light-based method LiTEC, Choongman Lee et al. can reveal the nature of biomolecular condensates through in vivo targeting and manipulation.
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To gain a deeper understanding of the biophysical properties and biological functions of cellular condensates, researchers need to study these components as they occur in nature. In a recent study published in Cell, the team of Max Planck researchers from #Freiburg, introduced a novel method called LiTEC (Light-induced Targeting of Endogenous Condensates). Unlike traditional techniques that rely on chemical or mechanical extraction, LiTEC allows scientists to study and manipulate condensates directly in living cells.
The LiTEC system uses intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) of specific proteins that naturally accumulate in condensates and serve as molecular »zip codes« to precisely target them. It then uses light-dependent processes to couple the IDRs to arbitrarily cargo molecules, and accumulates the cargo molecules within these condensates at will. This targeted accumulation brings concentrated enzymatic activities into the condensates, allowing researchers to better analyze their composition and behavior using mass spectrometry.
“In our proof-of-concept, we focused on transcription condensates, specifically the difficult-to-purify condensates of RNA Pol II and Mediator in mammalian cells. In principle, however, the same LiTEC approach can be easily applied to other endogenous condensate. By selecting different »zip codes«, other condensates can be targeted. By selecting different cargos, you could in principle enable other genome-wide studies of endogenous condensates,” explains Ibrahim Cissé.
It is also possible that LiTEC could be used to manipulate the biophysical properties of condensates by concentrating specific markers to either dissolve or solidify them, thereby influencing their biological functions. Overall, the LiTEC system opens new avenues for proteomics and has significant potential for a wide range of applications in condensate research.
Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/e-ar9ehd
Or get all the facts in the original publication in Cell: https://lnkd.in/e-kg9aGy
