Huaiying Zhang

Many cellular compartments, such as nucleoli and stress granules, are not enclosed by membranes and are known as biomolecular condensates for their ability to concentrate biomolecules through phase separation. A classic paper from the lab of Michael Rosen has demonstrated that biomolecular phase separation is driven by multivalent interactions. This landmark study also introduced several other concepts regarding biomolecular condensates.

Keywords condensates virology nuclear biophysics HSV-1 chromatin phase separation microrheology chromatin dynamics ICP4 Introduction The biophysical properties of the cell interior profoundly affect biochemistry and cellular organization.

ATM inhibitors (ATMi) cause cell death by enabling CtIP to induce excessive DNA resection. A study now shows that ERCC6L2 regulates resection by forming condensates with CtIP to prevent its degradation. Loss of ERCC6L2 decreases sensitivity to ATMi, which suggests that ERCC6L2 deficiency can be a biomarker for ATMi resistance.