Membraneless Organelles: A Modern Understanding of the Organization and Functioning of the Intracellular Space

Dear Colleagues,

According to the current knowledge in modern cellular biology, membraneless organelles play an important role in the organization of various intracellular processes. These dynamic structures are formed and disassembled as a result of reversible liquid–liquid phase transitions that are highly controlled in biological systems. The fact that the cytoplasm and nucleus of cells, along with the “traditional” organelles that have membranes, separating their interior from the outside environment, contain various bodies (droplets) that do not have a membrane has been known for a long time. However, only in recent years  has attention has been drawn to the fact that, despite seemingly great differences in composition, localization, size, functions, etc., membraneless organelles have many common features. Membraneless organelles arise due to the phase separation of boipolymers under appropriate conditions, and the decisive role in this prosess is played by intrinsically disordered proteins. Membraneless organelles provide an important means of carrying out fine cellular organization and the regulation of various intracellular processes. The abnormal functioning of membraneless organelles is often accompanied by the formation of amyloid fibrils. This opens up new approaches to studying the processes of fibrillogenesis and cell aging.

The journals IJMS and Life will jointly be publishing a Special Issue covering the topic "Membraneless Organelles: A Modern Understanding of the Organization and Functioning of the Intracellular Space". This Special Issue aims to collect original and review papers on membraneless organelles. It is a study of the following: their mechanisms of functioning, their structure of during normal cell function; diseases and aging; the identification of factors that regulate changes in the activity and structure of membraneless organelles; as well as any other studies related to this topic.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in IJMS.

Prof. Dr. Konstantin K. Turoverov
Dr. Alexander V. Fonin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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• intrinsically disordered protein
• proteins post-translational modifications
• crowding
• liquid–liquid phase transition
• membraneless organelles
• liquid-gel phase transition
• amyloid fibrills
• aggregates of amyloid fibrills
• neurodegenerative diseases
• cancer
• aging
• membraneless organelles as a target for therapy in diseases