The Patterning and Proportion of Charged Residues in the Arginine-Rich Mixed-Charge Domain Determine the Membrane-Less Organelle Targeted by the Protein

Tamami Miyagi, Rio Yamazaki, Koji Ueda, Satoshi Narumi, Yuhei Hayamizu, Hiroshi Uji-i, Masahiko Kuroda, Kohsuke Kanekura

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Membrane-less organelles (MLOs) are formed by biomolecular liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS). Proteins with charged low-complexity domains (LCDs) are prone to phase separation and localize to MLOs, but the mechanism underlying the distributions of such proteins to specific MLOs remains poorly understood. Recently, proteins with Arg-enriched mixed-charge domains (R-MCDs), primarily composed of R and Asp (D), were found to accumulate in nuclear speckles via LLPS. However, the process by which R-MCDs selectively incorporate into nuclear speckles is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the patterning of charged amino acids and net charge determines the targeting of specific MLOs, including nuclear speckles and the nucleolus, by proteins. The redistribution of R and D residues from an alternately sequenced pattern to uneven blocky sequences caused a shift in R-MCD distribution from nuclear speckles to the nucleolus. In addition, the incorporation of basic residues in the R-MCDs promoted their localization to the MLOs and their apparent accumulation in the nucleolus. The R-MCD peptide with alternating amino acids did not undergo LLPS, whereas the blocky R-MCD peptide underwent LLPS with affinity to RNA, acidic poly-Glu, and the acidic nucleolar protein nucleophosmin, suggesting that the clustering of R residues helps avoid their neutralization by D residues and eventually induces R-MCD migration to the nucleolus. Therefore, the distribution of proteins to nuclear speckles requires the proximal positioning of D and R for the mutual neutralization of their charges.

Original languageEnglish
Article number7658
JournalInternational journal of molecular sciences
Volume23
Issue number14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022 Jul
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • liquid–liquid phase separation
  • membrane-less organelle
  • nuclear speckle
  • nucleolus

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • Molecular Biology
  • Spectroscopy
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Inorganic Chemistry

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