Membraneless physiology of the living cell. The past and the present
Since the 1880s, the concept of compartmentalizing through membranes has taken a firm place in cell physiology and has defined the objects, methods, and goals of physiologists’ research for decades. A huge mass of biologists know about the important role of intra-membrane pumps, channels, and lipids...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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EDP Sciences
2022-01-01
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| Series: | 4 open |
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| Online Access: | https://www.4open-sciences.org/articles/fopen/full_html/2022/01/fopen220001/fopen220001.html |
| _version_ | 1811226842048233472 |
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| author | Matveev Vladimir V. |
| author_facet | Matveev Vladimir V. |
| author_sort | Matveev Vladimir V. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since the 1880s, the concept of compartmentalizing through membranes has taken a firm place in cell physiology and has defined the objects, methods, and goals of physiologists’ research for decades. A huge mass of biologists know about the important role of intra-membrane pumps, channels, and lipids, and various hypotheses about the origin of life often begin with explanations about how the lipid membrane occurred, without which it is impossible to imagine the origin of a living cell. Against this background, there was a dissonance of statements that there are membraneless organelles in the cell, the functions of which are rapidly expanding under our eyes. Physically, they are similar to coacervate droplets, which from time to time were used to explain the origin of life, and now the coacervates are being more and more often discussed when describing the physics of the nucleus and cytoplasm of modern cells. However, ideas about the coacervate nature of cytoplasm/protoplasm originated in the first half of the 19th Century, when the contents of cells were likened to jelly, but this approach gradually faded into the shadows. Nevertheless, limited research in this area continued and was completed in the form of a membraneless cell physiology. Now that the focus of attention has turned to membraneless compartmentalization, it’s time to remember the past. The sorption properties of proteins are the physical basis of membraneless cell because of water adsorbed by proteins changes the physical state of any biomolecular system, from supramolecular and subcellular structures to the cell as a whole. A thermodynamic aqueous phase is formed because adsorbed water does not mix with ordinary water and, in this cause, is separated from the surrounding solution in the form of a compartment. This article discusses the fundamental physical properties of such a phase – a biophase. As it turned out, the Meyer–Overton rule, which led to the idea of a lipid membrane, also applies to membraneless condensates. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T09:31:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c3c2acb7dfdd434bb3758d5e11c3b79c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2557-0250 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T09:31:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | EDP Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | 4 open |
| spelling | doaj.art-c3c2acb7dfdd434bb3758d5e11c3b79c2022-12-22T03:38:21ZengEDP Sciences4 open2557-02502022-01-0151510.1051/fopen/2022013fopen220001Membraneless physiology of the living cell. The past and the presentMatveev Vladimir V.0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4413-1988Laboratory of Cell Physiology, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of SciencesSince the 1880s, the concept of compartmentalizing through membranes has taken a firm place in cell physiology and has defined the objects, methods, and goals of physiologists’ research for decades. A huge mass of biologists know about the important role of intra-membrane pumps, channels, and lipids, and various hypotheses about the origin of life often begin with explanations about how the lipid membrane occurred, without which it is impossible to imagine the origin of a living cell. Against this background, there was a dissonance of statements that there are membraneless organelles in the cell, the functions of which are rapidly expanding under our eyes. Physically, they are similar to coacervate droplets, which from time to time were used to explain the origin of life, and now the coacervates are being more and more often discussed when describing the physics of the nucleus and cytoplasm of modern cells. However, ideas about the coacervate nature of cytoplasm/protoplasm originated in the first half of the 19th Century, when the contents of cells were likened to jelly, but this approach gradually faded into the shadows. Nevertheless, limited research in this area continued and was completed in the form of a membraneless cell physiology. Now that the focus of attention has turned to membraneless compartmentalization, it’s time to remember the past. The sorption properties of proteins are the physical basis of membraneless cell because of water adsorbed by proteins changes the physical state of any biomolecular system, from supramolecular and subcellular structures to the cell as a whole. A thermodynamic aqueous phase is formed because adsorbed water does not mix with ordinary water and, in this cause, is separated from the surrounding solution in the form of a compartment. This article discusses the fundamental physical properties of such a phase – a biophase. As it turned out, the Meyer–Overton rule, which led to the idea of a lipid membrane, also applies to membraneless condensates.https://www.4open-sciences.org/articles/fopen/full_html/2022/01/fopen220001/fopen220001.htmladsorptionhydrogen bondsintrinsically disordered proteinsmembraneless organellesmeyer–overton rulephysical state of waterphysiology |
| spellingShingle | Matveev Vladimir V. Membraneless physiology of the living cell. The past and the present 4 open adsorption hydrogen bonds intrinsically disordered proteins membraneless organelles meyer–overton rule physical state of water physiology |
| title | Membraneless physiology of the living cell. The past and the present |
| title_full | Membraneless physiology of the living cell. The past and the present |
| title_fullStr | Membraneless physiology of the living cell. The past and the present |
| title_full_unstemmed | Membraneless physiology of the living cell. The past and the present |
| title_short | Membraneless physiology of the living cell. The past and the present |
| title_sort | membraneless physiology of the living cell the past and the present |
| topic | adsorption hydrogen bonds intrinsically disordered proteins membraneless organelles meyer–overton rule physical state of water physiology |
| url | https://www.4open-sciences.org/articles/fopen/full_html/2022/01/fopen220001/fopen220001.html |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matveevvladimirv membranelessphysiologyofthelivingcellthepastandthepresent |