👤 Ziyu Kuai

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a fundamental biophysical process driving the formation of dynamic biomolecular condensates, which spatially organize cellular biochemistry without membrane delimitation. These condensates arise from multivalent, weak interactions among intrinsically disordered proteins, modular interaction motifs, and RNA scaffolds, enabling highly tunable and reversible compartmentalization of biomolecules. This phase behavior regulates critical cellular functions such as gene expression, signal transduction, and stress response, while its dysregulation contributes to pathological aggregation and disease. Recent advances leverage LLPS principles to design synthetic condensates with controllable composition, properties, and activities. Combining structural insights, quantitative phase behavior, and synthetic biology tools, engineered condensates have been developed for enhanced catalysis, metabolic control, targeted drug delivery, and biosensing. This review summarizes the molecular mechanisms, design strategies, and translational prospects of LLPS-mediated condensates, thereby paving the way for future exploration at the interface of cellular biophysics and bioengineering. Show less

Key words: Mitochondrial uncoupling protein 2; Colon cancer; Uncoupling protein 2; Clinicopathologic characteristics AIM: To detect the expression of mitochondrial uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) in colon cancer and analyze the relation between UCP2 expression and clinical pathological features of colon cancer. Peer reviewer: Guangcun Huang, MD, PhD, Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Center for Clinical and Translational Research, Columbus, OH 43205, United States METHODS: Fifteen colon tissue samples and 15 its adjacent tissue samples were obtained from colon cancer Show less