Multicomponent biomolecular condensates formed by diverse multivalent proteins underlie numerous cellular processes, from ribosome biogenesis to stress response regulation, and have recently been implicated in disease-related protein aggregation. Understanding how heterotypic protein interactions modulate condensate dynamics and transitions to amyloid states remains a major challenge. Here, we combine fluorescence-based ensemble and single-molecule approaches, molecular simulations, and systematic domain deletions to investigate how charge patterning and domain structure influence co-condensation between α-synuclein, a disordered neuronal protein linked to Parkinson's disease, and the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (NP) a structured viral RNA-binding protein. We find that co-condensation is driven by multivalent electrostatic interactions and occurs when the heterotypic affinity exceeds a threshold, resulting in restricted protein dynamics and altered condensate material properties. These changes promote the formation of dense amyloid fibrils, as confirmed by atomic force microscopy and fluorescence assays. Our results elucidate how heterotypic interactions within multiphasic condensates can modulate phase behavior and aggregation, providing insight into broader mechanisms linking condensate dysregulation with neurodegenerative diseases.
Roychowdhury et al. (Tue,) studied this question.