Macromolecular Crowding Promotes Re-entrant Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation of Human Serum Transferrin and Prevents Surface-Induced Fibrillation

Biomacromolecules. 2023 Aug 14;24(8):3917-3928. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c00550. Epub 2023 Jul 28.

Abstract

Protein aggregation and inactivation upon surface immobilization are major limiting factors for analytical applications in biotechnology-related fields. Protein immobilization on solid surfaces often requires multi-step surface passivation, which is time-consuming and inefficient. Herein, we have discovered that biomolecular condensates of biologically active human serum transferrin (Tf) can effectively prevent surface-induced fibrillation and preserve the native-like conformation of phase-separated Tf over a period of 30 days. It has been observed that macromolecular crowding promotes homotypic liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of Tf through enthalpically driven multivalent hydrophobic interactions possibly via the involvement of its low-complexity domain (residues 3-20) containing hydrophobic amino acids. The present LLPS of Tf is a rare example of salt-mediated re-entrant phase separation in a broad range of salt concentrations (0-3 M) solely via the involvement of hydrophobic interactions. Notably, no liquid-to-solid-like phase transition has been observed over a period of 30 days, suggesting the intact conformational integrity of phase-separated Tf, as revealed from single droplet Raman, circular dichroism, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements. More importantly, we discovered that the phase-separated condensates of Tf completely inhibit the surface-induced fibrillation of Tf, illustrating the protective role of these liquid-like condensates against denaturation and aggregation of biomolecules. The cell mimicking compact aqueous compartments of biomolecular condensates with a substantial amount of interfacial water preserve the structure and functionality of Tf. Our present study highlights an important functional aspect of biologically active protein condensates and may have wide-ranging implications in cell physiology and biotechnological applications.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Protein Conformation
  • Protein Interaction Maps
  • Spectrum Analysis, Raman
  • Thermodynamics
  • Transferrin* / chemistry

Substances

  • Transferrin
  • apotransferrin