Multicellularity was a watershed development in evolution. However, it also meant that individual cells could escape regulatory mechanisms that restrict proliferation at a severe cost to the organism: cancer. From the standpoint of cellular organization, evolutionary complexity scales to organize different molecules within the intracellular milieu. The recent realization that many biomolecules can “phase-separate” into membraneless organelles, reorganizing cellular biochemistry in space and time, has led to an explosion of research activity in this area. In this review, we explore mechanistic connections between phase separation and cancer-associated processes and emerging examples of how these become deranged in malignancy. Significance: One of the fundamental functions of phase separation is to rapidly and dynamically respond to environmental perturbations. Importantly, these changes often lead to alterations in cancer-relevant pathways and processes. This review covers recent advances in the field, including emerging principles and mechanisms of phase separation in cancer.

中文翻译：

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生物分子缩合：癌症研究的新阶段

多细胞性是进化史上的一个分水岭。然而，这也意味着单个细胞可以逃避限制增殖的监管机制，从而给生物体带来严重的代价：癌症。从细胞组织的角度来看，进化的复杂性可以在细胞内环境中组织不同的分子。最近人们认识到许多生物分子可以“相分离”成无膜细胞器，在空间和时间上重组细胞生物化学，导致该领域的研究活动激增。在这篇综述中，我们探讨了相分离和癌症相关过程之间的机制联系，以及这些过程在恶性肿瘤中如何变得混乱的新例子。意义：相分离的基本功能之一是快速动态地响应环境扰动。重要的是，这些变化通常会导致癌症相关途径和过程的改变。这篇综述涵盖了该领域的最新进展，包括癌症相分离的新兴原理和机制。