Liquid to solid transition of elastin condensates

Abstract

Liquid–liquid phase separation of tropoelastin has long been considered to be an important early step in the complex process of elastin fiber assembly in the body and has inspired the development of elastin-like peptides with a wide range of industrial and biomedical applications. Despite decades of study, the material state of the condensed liquid phase of elastin and its subsequent maturation remain poorly understood. Here, using a model minielastin that mimics the alternating domain structure of full-length tropoelastin, we examine the elastin liquid phase. We combine differential interference contrast (DIC), fluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy with particle-tracking microrheology to resolve the material transition occurring within elastin liquids over time in the absence of exogenous cross-linking. We find that this transition is accompanied by an intermediate stage marked by the coexistence of insoluble solid and dynamic liquid phases giving rise to significant spatial heterogeneities in material properties. We further demonstrate that varying the length of the terminal hydrophobic domains of minielastins can tune the maturation process. This work not only resolves an important step in the hierarchical assembly process of elastogenesis but further contributes mechanistic insight into the diverse repertoire of protein condensate maturation pathways with emerging importance across biology.