Protein phase separation: A novel therapy for cancer?

Abstract

In recent years, phase separation has been increasingly reported to play a pivotal role in a wide range of biological processes. Due to the close relationships between cancer and disorders in intracellular physiological function, the identification of new mechanisms involved in intracellular regulation has been regarded as a new direction for cancer therapy. Introducing the concept of phase separation into complex descriptions of disease mechanisms may provide many different insights. Here, we review the recent findings on the phase separation of cancer-related proteins, describing the possible relationships between phase separation and key proteins associated with cancer and indicate possible regulatory modalities, especially drug candidates for phase separation, which may provide more effective strategies for cancer therapy.