{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T11:11:06Z","timestamp":1785409866526,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":130,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785196800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["8217331"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["8217331"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["8217331"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["8217331"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002858","name":"China Postdoctoral Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2025M771971"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025M771971"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002858","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["2025M771971"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025M771971"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0426zh255","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China","award":["2024AFD226"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024AFD226"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int. J. Mol. Sci.","IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Liquid\u2013liquid phase separation (LLPS) has attracted considerable attention in cell biology as a potentially widespread organizing principle in the cellular environment. LLPS involving proteins and nucleic acids participates in a wide range of cellular processes, including regulation of genome activity, modulation of enzymatic activity, and control of subcellular compartmentalization. Emerging evidence supports the idea that aberrant LLPS behavior is associated with various diseases, including cancer and infectious diseases. These findings suggest that LLPS provides a new framework for understanding complex regulatory phenomena in cells. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of LLPS, focusing on the biophysical mechanisms underlying condensate formation, the molecular composition of biomolecular condensates, and current experimental approaches used to study this process. In particular, we highlight the role of LLPS in aberrant transcriptional regulation, with a specific focus on its regulatory functions and underlying molecular mechanisms in tumor cells. Collectively, this review provides an updated perspective on the functional and mechanistic roles of LLPS in physiological and pathological contexts, particularly in tumor biology.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27156766","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T15:57:28Z","timestamp":1785254248000},"page":"6766","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Liquid\u2013Liquid Phase Separation (LLPS) in Tumor Biology: Special Focus on the Process of Transcription"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Wei","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zihan","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Basic Medical Sciences, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430065, China"},{"name":"Hubei Shizhen Laboratory, Wuhan 430065, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qiaodan","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bin","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1729","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1172046","article-title":"Germline P granules are liquid droplets that localize by controlled dissolution\/condensation","volume":"324","author":"Brangwynne","year":"2009","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"a000638","DOI":"10.1101\/cshperspect.a000638","article-title":"The nucleolus","volume":"3","author":"Pederson","year":"2011","journal-title":"Cold Spring Harb. 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