KASH-domain proteins and the cytoskeletal landscapes of the nuclear envelope

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1368-1372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Schneider ◽  
Angelika A. Noegel ◽  
Iakowos Karakesisoglou

Over the last few years, several novel proteins have been identified that facilitate the physical integration of the nucleus with the cytoplasmic compartment. The majority belong to the evolutionarily conserved KASH [klarsicht/ANC-1 (anchorage 1)/SYNE (synaptic nuclear envelope protein) homology]-domain family, which function primarily as exclusive outer nuclear membrane scaffolds that associate with the cytoskeleton, the centrosome and the motor protein apparatus. In the present paper, we propose a novel model, which may explain why these proteins also determine nuclear architecture. Moreover, we discuss further nuclear membrane-tethering devices, which indicate collectively the presence of specific molecular mechanisms that organize the cytoplasmic–nuclear membrane interface in mammalian cells.

1999 ◽  
Vol 147 (5) ◽  
pp. 913-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Sullivan ◽  
Diana Escalante-Alcalde ◽  
Harshida Bhatt ◽  
Miriam Anver ◽  
Narayan Bhat ◽  
...  

The nuclear lamina is a protein meshwork lining the nucleoplasmic face of the inner nuclear membrane and represents an important determinant of interphase nuclear architecture. Its major components are the A- and B-type lamins. Whereas B-type lamins are found in all mammalian cells, A-type lamin expression is developmentally regulated. In the mouse, A-type lamins do not appear until midway through embryonic development, suggesting that these proteins may be involved in the regulation of terminal differentiation. Here we show that mice lacking A-type lamins develop to term with no overt abnormalities. However, their postnatal growth is severely retarded and is characterized by the appearance of muscular dystrophy. This phenotype is associated with ultrastructural perturbations to the nuclear envelope. These include the mislocalization of emerin, an inner nuclear membrane protein, defects in which are implicated in Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD), one of the three major X-linked dystrophies. Mice lacking the A-type lamins exhibit tissue-specific alterations to their nuclear envelope integrity and emerin distribution. In skeletal and cardiac muscles, this is manifest as a dystrophic condition related to EDMD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (25) ◽  
pp. 2271-2282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Lu ◽  
Xue-Hui Liu ◽  
Si-Ming Liao ◽  
Zhi-Long Lu ◽  
Dong Chen ◽  
...  

Polysialic acid (polySia) is a novel glycan that posttranslationally modifies neural cell adhesion molecules (NCAMs) in mammalian cells. Up-regulation of polySia-NCAM expression or NCAM polysialylation is associated with tumor cell migration and progression in many metastatic cancers and neurocognition. It has been known that two highly homologous mammalian polysialyltransferases (polySTs), ST8Sia II (STX) and ST8Sia IV (PST), can catalyze polysialylation of NCAM, and two polybasic domains, polybasic region (PBR) and polysialyltransferase domain (PSTD) in polySTs play key roles in affecting polyST activity or NCAM polysialylation. However, the molecular mechanisms of NCAM polysialylation and cell migration are still not entirely clear. In this minireview, the recent research results about the intermolecular interactions between the PBR and NCAM, the PSTD and cytidine monophosphate-sialic acid (CMP-Sia), the PSTD and polySia, and as well as the intramolecular interaction between the PBR and the PSTD within the polyST, are summarized. Based on these cooperative interactions, we have built a novel model of NCAM polysialylation and cell migration mechanisms, which may be helpful to design and develop new polysialyltransferase inhibitors.


2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 2451-2464 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Jeremy Nichols ◽  
Matthew S. Wiebe ◽  
Paula Traktman

The vaccinia-related kinases (VRKs) comprise a branch of the casein kinase family whose members are characterized by homology to the vaccinia virus B1 kinase. The VRK orthologues encoded by Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster play an essential role in cell division; however, substrates that mediate this role have yet to be elucidated. VRK1 can complement the temperature sensitivity of a vaccinia B1 mutant, implying that VRK1 and B1 have overlapping substrate specificity. Herein, we demonstrate that B1, VRK1, and VRK2 efficiently phosphorylate the extreme N′ terminus of the BAF protein (Barrier to Autointegration Factor). BAF binds to both DNA and LEM domain-containing proteins of the inner nuclear membrane; in lower eukaryotes, BAF has been shown to play an important role during the reassembly of the nuclear envelope at the end of mitosis. We demonstrate that phosphorylation of ser4 and/or thr2/thr3 abrogates the interaction of BAF with DNA and reduces its interaction with the LEM domain. Coexpression of VRK1 and GFP-BAF greatly diminishes the association of BAF with the nuclear chromatin/matrix and leads to its dispersal throughout the cell. Cumulatively, our data suggest that the VRKs may modulate the association of BAF with nuclear components and hence play a role in maintaining appropriate nuclear architecture.


1997 ◽  
Vol 137 (6) ◽  
pp. 1199-1210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Yang ◽  
Tinglu Guan ◽  
Larry Gerace

We have analyzed the fate of several integral membrane proteins of the nuclear envelope during mitosis in cultured mammalian cells to determine whether nuclear membrane proteins are present in a vesicle population distinct from bulk ER membranes after mitotic nuclear envelope disassembly or are dispersed throughout the ER. Using immunofluorescence staining and confocal microscopy, we compared the localization of two inner nuclear membrane proteins (laminaassociated polypeptides 1 and 2 [LAP1 and LAP2]) and a nuclear pore membrane protein (gp210) to the distribution of bulk ER membranes, which was determined with lipid dyes (DiOC6 and R6) and polyclonal antibodies. We found that at the resolution of this technique, the three nuclear envelope markers become completely dispersed throughout ER membranes during mitosis. In agreement with these results, we detected LAP1 in most membranes containing ER markers by immunogold electron microscopy of metaphase cells. Together, these findings indicate that nuclear membranes lose their identity as a subcompartment of the ER during mitosis. We found that nuclear lamins begin to reassemble around chromosomes at the end of mitosis at the same time as LAP1 and LAP2 and propose that reassembly of the nuclear envelope at the end of mitosis involves sorting of integral membrane proteins to chromosome surfaces by binding interactions with lamins and chromatin.


2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 1335-1342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Banafshé Larijani ◽  
Fadi Hamati ◽  
Aupola Kundu ◽  
Gary C. Chung ◽  
Marie-Charlotte Domart ◽  
...  

To suggest and develop intelligent strategies to comprehend the regulation of organelle formation, a deeper mechanistic interpretation requires more than just the involvement of proteins. Our approaches link the formation of endomembranes with both signalling and membrane physical properties. Hitherto, membrane morphology, local physical structure and signalling have not been well integrated. Our studies derive from a cross-disciplinary approach undertaken to determine the molecular mechanisms of nuclear envelope assembly in echinoderm and mammalian cells. Our findings have led to the demonstration of a direct role for phosphoinositides and their derivatives in nuclear membrane formation. We have shown that phosphoinositides and their derivatives, as well as acting as second messengers, are modulators of membrane morphology, and their modifying enzymes regulate nuclear envelope formation. In addition, we have shown that echinoderm eggs can be exploited as a milieu to directly study the roles of phospholipids in maintaining organelle shape. The use of the echinoderm egg is a significant step forward in obtaining direct information about membrane physical properties in situ rather than using simpler models which do not provide a complete mechanistic insight into the role of phospholipids in membrane dynamics.


2017 ◽  
Vol 216 (9) ◽  
pp. 2827-2841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao-Ying Ding ◽  
Ying-Hsuan Wang ◽  
Yu-Cheng Huang ◽  
Myong-Chol Lee ◽  
Min-Jen Tseng ◽  
...  

Linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complexes spanning the nuclear envelope (NE) contribute to nucleocytoskeletal force transduction. A few NE proteins have been found to regulate the LINC complex. In this study, we identify one, Kuduk (Kud), which can reside at the outer nuclear membrane and is required for the development of Drosophila melanogaster ovarian follicles and NE morphology of myonuclei. Kud associates with LINC complex components in an evolutionarily conserved manner. Loss of Kud increases the level but impairs functioning of the LINC complex. Overexpression of Kud suppresses NE targeting of cytoskeleton-free LINC complexes. Thus, Kud acts as a quality control mechanism for LINC-mediated nucleocytoskeletal connections. Genetic data indicate that Kud also functions independently of the LINC complex. Overexpression of the human orthologue TMEM258 in Drosophila proved functional conservation. These findings expand our understanding of the regulation of LINC complexes and NE architecture.


2001 ◽  
Vol 114 (18) ◽  
pp. 3297-3307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Einav Nili ◽  
Gady S. Cojocaru ◽  
Yael Kalma ◽  
Doron Ginsberg ◽  
Neal G. Copeland ◽  
...  

LAP2β is an integral membrane protein of the nuclear envelope involved in chromatin and nuclear architecture. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, we have cloned a novel LAP2β-binding protein, mGCL, which contains a BTB/POZ domain and is the mouse homologue of the Drosophila germ-cell-less (GCL) protein. In Drosophila embryos, GCL was shown to be essential for germ cell formation and was localized to the nuclear envelope. Here, we show that, in mammalian cells, GCL is co-localized with LAP2β to the nuclear envelope. Nuclear fractionation studies reveal that mGCL acts as a nuclear matrix component and not as an integral protein of the nuclear envelope. Recently, mGCL was found to interact with the DP3α component of the E2F transcription factor. This interaction reduced the transcriptional activity of the E2F-DP heterodimer, probably by anchoring the complex to the nuclear envelope. We demonstrate here that LAP2β is also capable of reducing the transcriptional activity of the E2F-DP complex and that it is more potent than mGCL in doing so. Co-expression of both LAP2β and mGCL with the E2F-DP complex resulted in a reduced transcriptional activity equal to that exerted by the pRb protein.


2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1790-1801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew D. McGee ◽  
Regina Rillo ◽  
Amy S. Anderson ◽  
Daniel A. Starr

UNC-84 is required to localize UNC-83 to the nuclear envelope where it functions during nuclear migration. A KASH domain in UNC-83 was identified. KASH domains are conserved in the nuclear envelope proteins Syne/nesprins, Klarsicht, MSP-300, and ANC-1. Caenorhabditis elegans UNC-83 was shown to localize to the outer nuclear membrane and UNC-84 to the inner nuclear membrane in transfected mammalian cells, suggesting the KASH and SUN protein targeting mechanisms are conserved. Deletion of the KASH domain of UNC-83 blocked nuclear migration and localization to the C. elegans nuclear envelope. Some point mutations in the UNC-83 KASH domain disrupted nuclear migration, even if they localized normally. At least two separable portions of the C-terminal half of UNC-84 were found to interact with the UNC-83 KASH domain in a membrane-bound, split-ubiquitin yeast two-hybrid system. However, the SUN domain was essential for UNC-84 function and UNC-83 localization in vivo. These data support the model that KASH and SUN proteins bridge the nuclear envelope, connecting the nuclear lamina to cytoskeletal components. This mechanism seems conserved across eukaryotes and is the first proposed mechanism to target proteins specifically to the outer nuclear membrane.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 891-903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler P. Molitor ◽  
Paula Traktman

Barrier to autointegration factor (BAF), which is encoded by the BANF1 gene, binds with high-affinity to double-stranded DNA and LEM domain–containing proteins at the nuclear periphery. A BANF1 mutation has recently been associated with a novel human progeria syndrome, and cells from these patients have aberrant nuclear envelopes. The interactions of BAF with its DNA- and protein-binding partners are known to be regulated by phosphorylation, and previously we validated BAF as a highly efficient substrate for the VRK1 protein kinase. Here we show that depletion of VRK1 in MCF10a and MDA-MB-231 cells results in aberrant nuclear architecture. The immobile fraction of green fluorescent protein (GFP)–BAF at the nuclear envelope (NE) is elevated, suggesting that prolonged interactions of BAF with its binding partners is likely responsible for the aberrant NE architecture. Because detachment of BAF from its binding partners is associated with NE disassembly, we performed live-imaging analysis of control and VRK1-depleted cells to visualize GFP-BAF dynamics during mitosis. In the absence of VRK1, BAF does not disperse but instead remains chromosome bound from the onset of mitosis. VRK1 depletion also increases the number of anaphase bridges and multipolar spindles. Thus phosphorylation of BAF by VRK1 is essential both for normal NE architecture and proper dynamics of BAF–chromosome interactions during mitosis. These results are consistent with previous studies of the VRK/BAF signaling axis in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster and validate VRK1 as a key regulator of NE architecture and mitotic chromosome dynamics in mammalian cells.


2012 ◽  
Vol 198 (5) ◽  
pp. 895-911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ningyi Xu ◽  
Shaobing O. Zhang ◽  
Ronald A. Cole ◽  
Sean A. McKinney ◽  
Fengli Guo ◽  
...  

At the subcellular level, fat storage is confined to the evolutionarily conserved compartments termed lipid droplets (LDs), which are closely associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). However, the molecular mechanisms that enable ER–LD interaction and facilitate neutral lipid loading into LDs are poorly understood. In this paper, we present evidence that FATP1/acyl-CoA synthetase and DGAT2/diacylglycerol acyltransferase are components of a triglyceride synthesis complex that facilitates LD expansion. A loss of FATP1 or DGAT2 function blocked LD expansion in Caenorhabditis elegans. FATP1 preferentially associated with DGAT2, and they acted synergistically to promote LD expansion in mammalian cells. Live imaging indicated that FATP1 and DGAT2 are ER and LD resident proteins, respectively, and electron microscopy revealed FATP1 and DGAT2 foci close to the LD surface. Furthermore, DGAT2 that was retained in the ER failed to support LD expansion. We propose that the evolutionarily conserved FATP1–DGAT2 complex acts at the ER–LD interface and couples the synthesis and deposition of triglycerides into LDs both physically and functionally.


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