MloDisDB: a manually curated database of the relations between membraneless organelles and diseases

Cells are compartmentalized by numerous membrane-bounded organelles and membraneless organelles (MLOs) to ensure temporal and spatial regulation of various biological processes. A number of MLOs, such as nucleoli, nuclear speckles and stress granules, exist as liquid droplets within the cells and arise from the condensation of proteins and RNAs via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). By concentrating certain proteins and RNAs, MLOs accelerate biochemical reactions and protect cells during stress, and dysfunction of MLOs is associated with various pathological processes. With the development in this field, more and more relations between the MLOs and diseases have been described; however, these results have not been made available in a centralized resource. Herein, we build MloDisDB, a database which aims to gather the relations between MLOs and diseases from dispersed literature. In addition, the relations between LLPS and diseases were included as well. Currently, MloDisDB contains 771 curated entries from 607 publications; each entry in MloDisDB contains detailed information about the MLO, the disease and the functional factor in the relation. Furthermore, an efficient and user-friendly interface for users to search, browse and download all entries was provided. MloDisDB is the first comprehensive database of the relations between MLOs and diseases so far, and the database is freely accessible at http://mlodis.phasep.pro/.

Automated summary

Cells are compartmentalized by membrane-bounded and membraneless organelles for temporal and spatial regulation. MLOs, like nucleoli and stress granules, form liquid droplets via liquid-liquid phase separation, accelerating biochemical reactions and protecting cells. Dysfunction of MLOs is linked to various pathological processes, and MloDisDB aims to gather and centralize information on relations between MLOs and diseases.