A high density of lipid-anchored IDPs may generate a unique environment for cell signaling

What is it about?

The concentration of (water soluble) intrinsically disordered proteins anchored to the surface of lipid membranes is very high. We suggest that the high concentration of tethered IDPs generates a special region (the disordered boundary of the cell) with unique collective properties that go beyond the sum of individual effects. The emerging properties may include enhanced protein-protein interactions, protein-driven phase separation, Z-compartimentalization, and IDP modulated electrostatics.

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Why is it important?

Most cell signaling cascades propagate from the cell surface and the initial steps take place in the narrow layer of the cytoplasm next to the lipid surface. Disordered proteins anchored to the lipid surface extend to the cytoplasm at densities, enabling collective properties to emerge. Physical properties may be mediated by coupled dynamics and affected by the electrostatic fields generated by charged lipids and neighbor charged IDPs. Signaling interactions in this peculiar environment may be substantially different from the models derived from the study of isolated proteins.