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Analysis of institutional authors

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July 17, 2023
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Article

Location and Concentration of Aromatic-Rich Segments Dictates the Percolating Inter-Molecular Network and Viscoelastic Properties of Ageing Condensates

Publicated to: Advanced Science. 10 (25): 2207742- - 2023-09-01 10(25), DOI: 10.1002/advs.202207742

Authors:

Blazquez, S; Sanchez-Burgos, I; Ramirez, J; Higginbotham, T; Conde, MM; Collepardo-Guevara, R; Tejedor, AR; Espinosa, JR
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Affiliations

Department of Physics - Author
Department of Physics , Universidad Complutense de Madrid - Author
Department of Physics , Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author
Department of Physics , University of Cambridge - Author
Univ Cambridge, Dept Genet, Cambridge CB2 3EH, Cambs, England - Author
Univ Cambridge, Maxwell Ctr, Dept Phys, Cavendish Lab, JJ Thomson Ave, Cambridge CB3 0HE, Cambs, England - Author
Univ Cambridge, Yusuf Hamied Dept Chem, Lensfield Rd, Cambridge CB2 1EW, Cambs, England - Author
Univ Complutense Madrid, Dept Phys Chem, Ave Complutense S-N, Madrid 28040, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Dept Chem Engn, Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, Madrid 28006, Spain - Author
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author
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Abstract

Maturation of functional liquid-like biomolecular condensates into solid-like aggregates has been linked to the onset of several neurodegenerative disorders. Low-complexity aromatic-rich kinked segments (LARKS) contained in numerous RNA-binding proteins can promote aggregation by forming inter-protein β-sheet fibrils that accumulate over time and ultimately drive the liquid-to-solid transition of the condensates. Here, atomistic molecular dynamics simulations are combined with sequence-dependent coarse-grained models of various resolutions to investigate the role of LARKS abundance and position within the amino acid sequence in the maturation of condensates. Remarkably, proteins with tail-located LARKS display much higher viscosity over time than those in which the LARKS are placed toward the center. Yet, at very long timescales, proteins with a single LARKS—independently of its location—can still relax and form high viscous liquid condensates. However, phase-separated condensates of proteins containing two or more LARKS become kinetically trapped due to the formation of percolated β-sheet networks that display gel-like behavior. Furthermore, as a work case example, they demonstrate how shifting the location of the LARKS-containing low-complexity domain of FUS protein toward its center effectively precludes the accumulation of β-sheet fibrils in FUS-RNA condensates, maintaining functional liquid-like behavior without ageing.
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Keywords

aggregationbeta-sheet foldingcondensate ageingdropletsdynamicsfusgranulesliquid-liquid phase separationproteinprotein aggregationrnastresstdp-43Computer simulationsCondensate ageingLiquid-liquid phase separationLiquid-phase-separationProtein aggregationRna-binding proteinsΒ-sheet folding

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Advanced Science due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 29/439, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Materials Science, Multidisciplinary. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 2.74. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 2.6 (source consulted: FECYT Mar 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2026-04-26, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 24
  • Scopus: 19
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-26:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 22.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 22 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 34.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 2 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 4 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/92519/

As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

  • Views: 41
  • Downloads: 23
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: United Kingdom.

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Tejedor Reyes, Andres.

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