Expected and observed effects of volume exclusion on the free energy of rigid and flexible macromolecules in crowded and confined systems, and consequent effects of crowding and confinement on macromolecular reaction rates and equilibria are summarized. Findings from relevant theoretical/simulation and experimental literature published from 2004 onward are reviewed. Additional complexity arising from the heterogeneity of local environments in biological media, and the presence of nonspecific interactions between macromolecules over and above steric repulsion, are discussed. Theoretical and experimental approaches to the characterization of crowding- and confinement-induced effects in systems approaching the complexity of living organisms are suggested.

中文翻译：

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大分子拥挤和限制：生化、生物物理和潜在的生理后果。

总结了体积排阻对拥挤和受限系统中刚性和柔性大分子自由能的预期和观察到的影响，以及拥挤和限制对大分子反应速率和平衡的后续影响。回顾了 2004 年以后发表的相关理论/模拟和实验文献的结果。讨论了由生物介质中局部环境的异质性引起的额外复杂性，以及大分子之间存在空间排斥之外的非特异性相互作用。建议使用理论和实验方法来表征接近生物体复杂性的系统中的拥挤和限制诱导效应。