Open AccessLow complexity domains, condensates, and stem cell pluripotency
Author(s) -
Munender Vodnala,
Eun-Bee Choi,
Yick W. Fong
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
world journal of stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.907
H-Index - 18
ISSN - 1948-0210
DOI - 10.4252/wjsc.v13.i5.416
Subject(s) - stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , embryonic stem cell , dna , transcription factor , computational biology , biology , dna repair , induced pluripotent stem cell , gene , chemistry , genetics
Biological reactions require self-assembly of factors in the complex cellular milieu. Recent evidence indicates that intrinsically disordered, low-complexity sequence domains (LCDs) found in regulatory factors mediate diverse cellular processes from gene expression to DNA repair to signal transduction, by enriching specific biomolecules in membraneless compartments or hubs that may undergo liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). In this review, we discuss how embryonic stem cells take advantage of LCD-driven interactions to promote cell-specific transcription, DNA damage response, and DNA repair. We propose that LCD-mediated interactions play key roles in stem cell maintenance and safeguarding genome integrity.