Nuclear Envelope and Chromatin Compositional Differences Comparing Undifferentiated and Retinoic Acid- and Phorbol Ester-Treated HL-60 Cells (original) (raw)

Nuclear envelope proteins and chromatin arrangement: a pathogenic mechanism for laminopathies

European journal of histochemistry : EJH

The involvement of the nuclear envelope in the modulation of chromatin organization is strongly suggested by the increasing number of human diseases due to mutations of nuclear envelope proteins. A common feature of these diseases, named laminopathies, is the occurrence of major chromatin defects. We previously reported that cells from laminopathic patients show an altered nuclear profile, and loss or detachment of heterochromatin from the nuclear envelope. Recent evidence indicates that processing of the lamin A precursor is altered in laminopathies featuring pre-mature aging and/or lipodystrophy phenotype. In these cases, pre-lamin A is accumulated in the nucleus and heterochromatin is severely disorganized. Here we report evidence indicating that pre-lamin A is mis-localized in the nuclei of Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy fibroblasts, either bearing lamin A/C or emerin mutations. Abnormal pre-lamin A-containing structures are formed following treatment with a farnesyl-transfer...

Involvement of nuclear lamins in postmitotic reorganization of chromatin as demonstrated by microinjection of lamin antibodies

The Journal of cell biology, 1986

The nuclear lamins are major components of a proteinaceous polymer that is located at the interface of the nuclear membrane and chromatin; these lamins are solubilized and dispersed throughout the cytoplasm during mitosis. It has been postulated that these proteins, assembled into the lamina, provide an architectural framework for the organization of the cell nucleus. To test this hypothesis we microinjected lamin antibodies into cultured PtK2 cells during mitosis, thereby decreasing the soluble pool of lamins. The antibody injected was identified, together with the lamins, in cytoplasmic aggregates by immunoelectron microscopy. We show that microinjected cells are not able to form normal daughter nuclei, in contrast to cells injected with other immunoglobulins. Although cells injected with lamin antibodies are able to complete cytokinesis, the chromatin of their daughter nuclei remains arrested in a telophase-like configuration, and the telophase-like chromatin remains inactive as ...

The nuclear lamina comes of age

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 2005

Lamins are grouped as A-and B-types on the basis of their biochemical properties and behaviour during mitosis 1 . B-type lamins are essential for cell viability, are expressed in all cells during development, have acidic Abstract | Many nuclear proteins form lamin-dependent complexes, including LEM-domain proteins, nesprins and SUN-domain proteins. These complexes have roles in chromatin organization, gene regulation and signal transduction. Some link the nucleoskeleton to cytoskeletal structures, ensuring that the nucleus and centrosome assume appropriate intracellular positions. These complexes provide new insights into cell architecture, as well as a foundation for the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the human laminopathies -clinical disorders that range from Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy to the accelerated ageing seen in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.

Interplay of the nuclear envelope with chromatin in physiology and pathology

Nucleus

The nuclear envelope compartmentalizes chromatin in eukaryotic cells. The main nuclear envelope components are lamins that associate with a panoply of factors, including the LEM domain proteins. The nuclear envelope of mammalian cells opens up during cell division. It is reassembled and associated with chromatin at the end of mitosis when telomeres tether to the nuclear periphery. Lamins, LEM domain proteins, and DNA binding factors, as BAF, contribute to the reorganization of chromatin. In this context, an emerging role is that of the ESCRT complex, a machinery operating in multiple membrane assembly pathways, including nuclear envelope reformation. Research in this area is unraveling how, mechanistically, ESCRTs link to nuclear envelope associated factors as LEM domain proteins. Importantly, ESCRTs work also during interphase for repairing nuclear envelope ruptures. Altogether the advances in this field are giving new clues for the interpretation of diseases implicating nuclear envelope fragility, as laminopathies and cancer.

Increased plasticity of the nuclear envelope and hypermobility of telomeres due to the loss of A–type lamins

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects, 2010

Background: The nuclear lamina provides structural support to the nucleus and has a central role in defining nuclear organization. Defects in its filamentous constituents, the lamins, lead to a class of diseases collectively referred to as laminopathies. On the cellular level, lamin mutations affect the physical integrity of nuclei and nucleo-cytoskeletal interactions, resulting in increased susceptibility to mechanical stress and altered gene expression. Methods: In this study we quantitatively compared nuclear deformation and chromatin mobility in fibroblasts from a homozygous nonsense LMNA mutation patient and a Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome patient with wild type dermal fibroblasts, based on the visualization of mCitrine labeled telomerebinding protein TRF2 with light-economical imaging techniques and cytometric analyses. Results: Without application of external forces, we found that the absence of functional lamin A/C leads to increased nuclear plasticity on the hour and minute time scale but also to increased intranuclear mobility down to the second time scale. In contrast, progeria cells show overall reduced nuclear dynamics. Experimental manipulation (farnesyltransferase inhibition or lamin A/C silencing) confirmed that these changes in mobility are caused by abnormal or reduced lamin A/C expression. Conclusions: These observations demonstrate that A-type lamins affect both nuclear membrane and telomere dynamics. General significance: Because of the pivotal role of dynamics in nuclear function, these differences likely contribute to or represent novel mechanisms in laminopathy development.

The Inner Nuclear Membrane Protein Lamin B Receptor Forms Distinct Microdomains and Links Epigenetically Marked Chromatin to the Nuclear Envelope

Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2004

Using heterochromatin-enriched fractions, we have detected specific binding of mononucleosomes to the N-terminal domain of the inner nuclear membrane protein lamin B receptor. Mass spectrometric analysis reveals that LBR-associated particles contain complex patterns of methylated/acetylated histones and are devoid of "euchromatic" epigenetic marks. LBR binds heterochromatin as a higher oligomer and forms distinct nuclear envelope microdomains in vivo. The organization of these membrane assemblies is affected significantly in heterozygous ic (ichthyosis) mutants, resulting in a variety of structural abnormalities and nuclear defects.

Transcriptional repression, apoptosis, human disease and the functional evolution of the nuclear lamina

Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 2001

The main feature of eukaryotic cells is the nucleus, which enwraps the chromosomes and is the site of DNA replication, RNA transcription and processing, and ribosome assembly. The nuclear envelope (NE) is the boundary between the nucleus and cytoplasm. The NE is composed of the inner and outer nuclear membranes (INM and ONM, respectively), which are separated by a lumenal space continuous with the ER lumen. Communication between the nucleoplasm and cytoplasm takes place through pores in the nuclear envelope, where the inner and outer membranes join. Within these pores are nuclear pore complexes (NPCs), which mediate and regulate nuclear transport 1 . Underneath the INM is a meshwork of nuclear-specific intermediate filaments, termed the nuclear lamina, which includes lamin proteins plus a growing number of lamin-associated proteins 2,3 . Near the INM is the peripheral chromatin, a large proportion of which is heterochromatin .

Functions of the nuclear envelope and lamina in development and disease

Biochemical Society Transactions, 2008

Recent findings that some 24 inherited diseases and anomalies are caused by defects in proteins of the NE (nuclear envelope) and lamina have resulted in a fundamental reassessment of the functions of the NE and underlying lamina. Instead of just regarding the NE and lamina as a molecular filtering device, regulating the transfer of macromolecules between the cytoplasm and nucleus, we now envisage the NE/lamina functioning as a key cellular ‘hub’ in integrating critical functions that include chromatin organization, transcriptional regulation, mechanical integrity of the cell and signalling pathways, as well as acting as a key component in the organization and function of the cytoskeleton.

Review: The Dynamics of the Nuclear Lamins during the Cell Cycle— Relationship between Structure and Function

The nuclear lamins are members of the intermediate filament (IF) family of proteins. The lamins have an essential role in maintaining nuclear integrity, as do the other IF family members in the cytoplasm. Also like cytoplasmic IFs, the organization of lamins is dynamic. The lamins are found not only at the nuclear periphery but also in the interior of the nucleus, as distinct nucleoplasmic foci and possibly as a network throughout the nucleus. Nuclear processes such as DNA replication may be organized around these structures. In this review, we discuss changes in the structure and organization of the nuclear lamins during the cell cycle and during cell differentiation. These changes are correlated with changes in nuclear structure and function. For example, the interactions of lamins with chromatin and nuclear envelope components occur very early during nuclear assembly following mitosis. During S-phase, the lamins colocalize with markers of DNA replication, and proper lamin organization must be maintained for replication to proceed. When cells differentiate, the expression pattern of lamin isotypes changes. In addition, changes in lamin organization and expression patterns accompany the nuclear alterations observed in transformed cells. These lamin structures may modulate nuclear function in each of these processes.