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TDP-43 self-assembly is regulated by its disordered NLS-region

Hutten, S.; Pekbilir, E.; Bourgeois, B.; Ping, X.; Rickert, C.; Kuhr, N.; Knabe, N.; Mosna, S.; Madl, T.; Stelzl, L. S.; Dormann, D.

2026-06-09 biochemistry
10.64898/2026.06.06.730435 bioRxiv
Show abstract

Cytosolic inclusions of the RNA-binding protein TDP-43 are a pathological hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. Cellular or animal model systems often use TDP-43 mutated in its nuclear localization signal (NLS) to study its cytosolic mislocalization and aggregation. Here we show that the disordered NLS-region, in particular the basic amino acids, are crucial for self-assembly of full-length TDP-43 across size scales, ranging from small clusters to visible condensates and aggregates. Molecular dynamics simulations and NMR studies suggest that the NLS-region engages in inter-chain interactions with C-terminal aromatic residues as well as RRM1 and NTD interactions. We further demonstrate that a minimal NLS mutation (K82A) preserves TDP-43 condensation in vitro and in cells, while commonly used NLS mutations yield partially or strongly reduced self-assembly behaviors. Our data highlight TDP-43 K82A as ideal model system to study cytosolic TDP-43 aggregation in cell and animal models.

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