Changes in Nuclear Shape and Gene Expression in Response to Simulated Microgravity Are LINC Complex-Dependent.

Microgravity is known to affect the organization of the cytoskeleton, cell and nuclear morphology and to elicit differential expression of genes associated with the cytoskeleton, focal adhesions and the extracellular matrix. Although the nucleus is mechanically connected to the cytoskeleton through the Linker of Nucleoskeleton and Cytoskeleton (LINC) complex, the role of this group of proteins in these responses to microgravity has yet to be defined. In our study, we used a simulated microgravity device, a 3-D clinostat (Gravite), to investigate whether the LINC complex mediates cellular responses to the simulated microgravity environment.