Abstract
Fate decisions during immune cell development require temporally precise changes in gene expression. Evidence suggests that the dynamic modulation of these changes is associated with the formation of diverse, membrane-less nucleoprotein assemblies that are termed biomolecular condensates. These condensates are thought to orchestrate fate-determining transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes by locally and transiently concentrating DNA or RNA molecules alongside their regulatory proteins. Findings have established a link between condensate formation and the gene regulatory networks that ensure the proper development of immune cells. Conversely, condensate dysregulation has been linked to impaired immune cell fates, including ageing and malignant transformation. This Review explores the putative mechanistic links between condensate assembly and the gene regulatory frameworks that govern normal and pathological development in the immune system.
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Acknowledgements
We thank all members of the Di Stefano lab for stimulating discussions. We also thank R. Stadhouders, J. Lee, G. K. Datar and J. A. Riback for their insightful comments on the manuscript. B.D.S. is a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar in Cancer Research. B.D.S. is supported by the CPRIT Recruitment of First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Member Award RR200079, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Scholar Award, the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation (AMBF), the Worldwide Cancer Research (WCR) Foundation, the Milky Way Research Foundation Investigator Award and the NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award 1R35GM147126-01. S.K. is supported by NIH National Cancer Institute 1F32CA288043-01. C.M.S. is supported by NIH grant T32DK060445.
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Kodali, S., Sands, C.M., Guo, L. et al. Biomolecular condensates in immune cell fate. Nat Rev Immunol 25, 445–459 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-025-01130-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-025-01130-z
