How crowding shapes protein aggregation.

Abstract

Macromolecular crowding can reshape the conformational landscapes of intrinsically disordered and marginally stable proteins linked to neurodegeneration, enriching aggregation-prone states and changing how nucleation begins. Crowding can also promote liquid-liquid phase separation, leading to condensates that concentrate proteins, reshape interaction networks, and in some cases promote liquid-to-solid transitions into amyloid assemblies. This crowding-liquid-liquid phase separation-aggregation continuum may help explain why dilute solution assays often fail to capture the mechanisms that operate in cells. Crowding-aware structural biology, including in-cell nuclear magnetic resonance, cryo-electron microscopy of condensates, single-molecule methods, and thermodynamic-kinetic modelling, will be important for resolving physiologically relevant intermediates. From a therapeutic perspective, targeting condensate properties and early oligomeric states, rather than focussing only on mature fibrils, may offer new ways to limit pathogenic aggregation.