title: Liquids, Fibers, and Gels: The Many Phases of Neurodegeneration.
abstract: Recent advances suggest that phase transitions of proteins into liquid or hydrogel states could underlie pathological protein aggregation associated with neurodegenerative disease. In a recent issue of Neuron, Murakami et al. (2015) demonstrate that ALS-associated FUS mutations abrogate the reversibility of condensed liquids and/or hydrogels, leading to neurotoxicity in C. elegans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
authors.forename: Shana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Elbaum-Garfinkle
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. Electronic address: cbrangwy@princeton.edu.
authors.forename: Clifford P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Brangwynne
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D057174:Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration / Q000235:genetics*; D020100:Hydrogels; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000235:genetics*; D044367:Phase Transition; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D034702:RNA-Binding Protein FUS / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D020100:Hydrogels; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D034702:RNA-Binding Protein FUS