Analysis of Biomolecular Condensates in Cell Quiescence

CD BioSciences is dedicated to the broad functional characterization of biomolecular condensates to develop a range of regulatory targets and approaches to provide new opportunities for drug development and clinical treatment of disease. Here, CD BioSciences offers professional services to analyze the function of biomolecular condensates in cell quiescence for the development of drug targets.

Introduction

Quiescence is an essential state of cellular inactivity or dormancy. Cells enter a state of reversible growth arrest but are able to respond to external stimuli and maintain the ability to re-enter the cell to proliferate and redivide. In living organisms, quiescence is a common mechanism present in a wide range of different cell types. Cell quiescence helps stem cells maintain their stemness, protect their key functional features, maintain genomic integrity throughout their life cycle, and ensure their function during tissue repair in the presence of injury and tissue homeostasis. Studies have shown that liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and biomolecular condensates are involved in quiescence regulation.

Fig. 1. The diversity of quiescent cell types in human. (Uversky V N, 2023)

Customized Services

Quiescence cells are diverse and perform a variety of functions throughout the organism. To achieve these functions, cells must regulate their entry and exit into quiescence and make multiple changes to their gene expression, metabolism, and cellular organization. In addition, subpopulations of tumor cells can enter a dormant state, in which they can persist through drug treatment, leading to disease recurrence. Our experts are very interested in quiescent cells and try to develop cutting-edge techniques to characterize their functions.

Biomolecular condensates are involved in regulating the quiescent state of cells. As one of the leading suppliers of biomolecular condensates, CD BioSciences is committed to exploring the role of LLPS and condensates in cell quiescence, including proteasome particles, enzyme polymerization and telomere rearrangement in quiescent cells. We offer custom solutions to analyze phase separation in quiescent cells.

• Analysis of proteasome particles in quiescent cells
  In response to challenging growth conditions or stress, polyubiquitinated proteins are isolated into protein mass compartment (PQC) bodies to play a role in protein degradation. We provide fluorescence loss in photobleaching (FLIP) and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) to characterize PQC biomolecular condensates formed via LLPS, and further analyze the role of these membraneless organelles in the regulation of stress-induced quiescence or cell cycle arrest.
• Analysis of enzyme aggregation in dormant and quiescent states
  One reflection of quiescence is the appearance of large-scale enzymatically active filamentous polymers composed of metabolic enzymes, which can be homo- or heterodimers. We can characterize these biomolecular condensates formed by self-assembly during the transition between cell growth and quiescence, and analyze their properties in regulating cellular metabolism in dormancy and disease.
• Analysis of telomere rearrangements in quiescent cells
  The ends of eukaryotic chromosomes are protected by telomeres, a specialized nuclear protein structure. We can analyze the regulatory role of LLPS in the formation of telomeric condensates, and help you develop targets to control inappropriate recombination and telomere replication.

Quiescence can occur in different cells and in different organisms. Our service provides a comprehensive analysis of the important role that LLPS and biomolecular condensate formation play in the timing of quiescence, and the maintenance of this state. We aim to develop multiple biomedically significant strategies for quiescent cells, including the cytotoxic effects of antitumor therapy. If you have any special requirements for our services, please feel free to contact us. We are looking forward to working together with your attractive projects.