The nuclear envelope plays an essential role in organizing the genome inside of the nucleus. The inner nuclear membrane is coated with a meshwork of filamentous lamin proteins that provide a surface to organize a variety of cellular processes. A subset of nuclear lamina- and membrane-associated proteins functions as anchors to hold transcriptionally silent heterochromatin at the nuclear periphery. While most chromatin tethers are integral membrane proteins, a limited number are lamina-bound. One example is the mammalian proline-rich 14 (PRR14) protein. PRR14 is a recently characterized protein with unique function that is different from other known chromatin tethers. Here, we review our current understanding of PRR14 structure and function in organizing heterochromatin at the nuclear periphery.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.14685 | DOI Listing |
Biochem Biophys Res Commun
January 2025
Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Katahira 2-1-1, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan; Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Katahira 2-1-1, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan; Faculty of Engineering and Graduate School of Engineering, Gifu University, Yanagido 1-1, Gifu, 501-1193, Japan. Electronic address:
Importin α is a crucial player in the nucleocytoplasmic transport of nuclear localization signal (NLS)-containing cargo proteins and is suggested to bind to DNA directly. We hypothesized that importin α, after binding to DNA, may move along DNA via sliding or hopping. We investigated the movement dynamics of importin αs fused to AcGFP along DNA using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy and single-tethered DNA arrays.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Struct Mol Biol
January 2025
Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Transcription activators are said to stimulate gene expression by 'recruiting' coactivators, yet this vague term fits multiple kinetic models. To directly analyze the dynamics of activator-coactivator interactions, single-molecule microscopy was used to image promoter DNA, a transcription activator and the Spt-Ada-Gcn5 acetyltransferase (SAGA) complex within yeast nuclear extract. SAGA readily but transiently binds nucleosome-free DNA without an activator, while chromatin association occurs primarily when an activator is present.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGene expression is coordinated by a multitude of transcription factors (TFs), whose binding to the genome is directed through multiple interconnected epigenetic signals, including chromatin accessibility and histone modifications. These complex networks have been shown to be disrupted during aging, disease, and cancer. However, profiling these networks across diverse cell types and states has been limited due to the technical constraints of existing methods for mapping DNA:Protein interactions in single cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol
December 2024
Department of Pediatrics (T.S., J.-R.M., Y.H.C., J.M.S., J. Kaplan, A.C., L.W., D.G., S.T., S.I., M.D., W.Y., A.L.M., M.R.).
Background: Computational modeling indicated that pathological high shear stress (HSS; 100 dyn/cm) is generated in pulmonary arteries (PAs; 100-500 µm) in congenital heart defects causing PA hypertension (PAH) and in idiopathic PAH with occlusive vascular remodeling. Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) is a feature of PAH. We hypothesize that HSS induces EndMT, contributing to the initiation and progression of PAH.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNucleus
December 2025
Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Chromatin is a dynamic polymer in constant motion. These motions are heterogeneous between cells and within individual cell nuclei and are profoundly altered in response to DNA damage. The shifts in chromatin motions following genomic insults depend on the temporal and physical scales considered.
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