A tunable and reversible platform for the intracellular formation of genetically engineered protein microdomains.

ABSTRACT: From mitochondria to the nuclear envelope, the controlled assembly of micro- and nanostructures is essential for life; however, the level at which we can deliberately engineer the assembly of microstructures within intracellular environments remains primitive. To overcome this obstacle, we present a platform to reversibly assemble genetically engineered protein microdomains (GEPMs) on the time scale of minutes within living cells. Biologically inspired from the human protein tropoelastin, these protein polymers form a secondary aqueous phase above a tunable transition temperature. This assembly process is easily manipulated to occur at or near physiological temperature by adjusting molecular weight and hydrophobicity. We fused protein polymers to green fluorescent protein (GFP) to visualiz

SUBMITTER: Pastuszka MK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3500625 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature