The tethering of chromatin to the nuclear envelope supports nuclear mechanics

Schreiner, Sarah M., Koo, Peter K., Zhao, Yao, Mochrie, Simon G. J., King, Megan C. (2015) The tethering of chromatin to the nuclear envelope supports nuclear mechanics. Nature Communications, 6. p. 7159.

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URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26074052
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8159https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms8159#supplementary-information

Abstract

The nuclear lamina is thought to be the primary mechanical defence of the nucleus. However, the lamina is integrated within a network of lipids, proteins and chromatin; the interdependence of this network poses a challenge to defining the individual mechanical contributions of these components. Here, we isolate the role of chromatin in nuclear mechanics by using a system lacking lamins. Using novel imaging analyses, we observe that untethering chromatin from the inner nuclear membrane results in highly deformable nuclei in vivo, particularly in response to cytoskeletal forces. Using optical tweezers, we find that isolated nuclei lacking inner nuclear membrane tethers are less stiff than wild-type nuclei and exhibit increased chromatin flow, particularly in frequency ranges that recapitulate the kinetics of cytoskeletal dynamics. We suggest that modulating chromatin flow can define both transient and long-lived changes in nuclear shape that are biologically important and may be altered in disease.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > chromatin remodeling
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > protein structure, function, modification > protein types > cytoskeletal proteins
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > tissues types and functions > lamina
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Koo Lab
Depositing User: Matthew Dunn
Date: 2015
Date Deposited: 16 Sep 2019 18:13
Last Modified: 16 Jul 2021 13:18
PMCID: PMC4490570
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/38395

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