Stress-triggered protein clusters reveal how cells sort damaged cargo

Inside every cell, a cleanup operation runs around the clock. Proteins are constantly damaged by wear and tear. Some can be repaired, while others must be dismantled and recycled. When this system fails, damaged proteins accumulate in clumps associated with diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia. A study published in The EMBO Journal by Nirbhik Acharya (postdoc) and Carlos Castañeda, associate professor of biology and chemistry at Syracuse University's College of Arts & Sciences, reveals a key part of how that cleanup system works and what goes wrong in disease.