The interplay of structural and cellular biophysics controls clustering of multivalent molecules (Biophysical Journal)

Dynamic molecular clusters are assembled through weak multivalent interactions and are platforms for cellular functions, especially receptor-mediated signaling. Clustering is also a prerequisite for liquid-liquid phase separation. But it is not well understood how molecular structure and cellular organization control clustering. Using coarse-grain kinetic Langevin dynamics, we performed computational experiments on a prototypical ternary system modeled after membrane-bound nephrin, the adaptor Nck1 and the actin nucleation promoting factor NWASP.