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. 2019 Nov 21;10:1179. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2019.01179

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Working model: amyloid body biogenesis is a precisely choreographed routine. We propose that, on stimulus, low-complexity ribosomal intergenic spacer RNA (rIGSRNA) derived from the rDNA intergenic spacer accumulate in the nucleolus. Step 1: Low-complexity rIGSRNA interact with short cationic peptides, such as the R/H-rich sequence of the ACM (formally NoDS), to form nucleolar liquid-like foci. Step 2: Local concentration of proteins with amyloidogenic propensity in the foci triggers physiological amyloidogenesis and generates nascent amyloid bodies (A-bodies). Step 3: Once seeded, nascent A-bodies self-assemble into fibrillar, solid-like A-bodies. A-bodies enable cells to rapidly and reversibly store a large array of proteins and enter cellular dormancy in response to stress. Step 4: Upon recovery/stimulus termination, A-body disaggregation is mediated by heat shock protein (hsp) chaperones 70 and 90. Through these steps, A-body biogenesis may represent a physiological liquid-to-solid phase transition.