{"title":"Narrowing down the candidates of beneficial A-to-I RNA editing by comparing the recoding sites with uneditable counterparts.","authors":"Tianyou Zhao, Ling Ma, Shiwen Xu, Wanzhi Cai, Hu Li, Yuange Duan","doi":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2304503","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2304503","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Adar-mediated adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing mainly occurs in nucleus and diversifies the transcriptome in a flexible manner. It has been a challenging task to identify beneficial editing sites from the sea of total editing events. The functional Ser>Gly auto-recoding site in insect <i>Adar</i> gene has uneditable Ser codons in ancestral nodes, indicating the selective advantage to having an editable status. Here, we extended this case study to more metazoan species, and also looked for all <i>Drosophila</i> recoding events with potential uneditable synonymous codons. Interestingly, in <i>D. melanogaster</i>, the abundant nonsynonymous editing is enriched in the codons that have uneditable counterparts, but the <i>Adar</i> Ser>Gly case suggests that the editable orthologous codons in other species are not necessarily edited. The use of editable <i>versus</i> ancestral uneditable codon is a smart way to infer the selective advantage of RNA editing, and priority might be given to these editing sites for functional studies due to the feasibility to construct an uneditable allele. Our study proposes an idea to narrow down the candidates of beneficial recoding sites. Meanwhile, we stress that the matched transcriptomes are needed to verify the conservation of editing events during evolution.</p>","PeriodicalId":74323,"journal":{"name":"Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)","volume":"15 1","pages":"2304503"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10826634/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139577285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)Pub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2024-07-01DOI: 10.1080/19491034.2024.2374854
Luv Kishore Srivastava, Allen J Ehrlicher
{"title":"Sensing the squeeze: nuclear mechanotransduction in health and disease.","authors":"Luv Kishore Srivastava, Allen J Ehrlicher","doi":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2374854","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2374854","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The nucleus not only is a repository for DNA but also a center of cellular and nuclear mechanotransduction. From nuclear deformation to the interplay between mechanosensing components and genetic control, the nucleus is poised at the nexus of mechanical forces and cellular function. Understanding the stresses acting on the nucleus, its mechanical properties, and their effects on gene expression is therefore crucial to appreciate its mechanosensitive function. In this review, we examine many elements of nuclear mechanotransduction, and discuss the repercussions on the health of cells and states of illness. By describing the processes that underlie nuclear mechanosensation and analyzing its effects on gene regulation, the review endeavors to open new avenues for studying nuclear mechanics in physiology and diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":74323,"journal":{"name":"Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)","volume":"15 1","pages":"2374854"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11221475/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141478135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)Pub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2024-05-22DOI: 10.1080/19491034.2024.2350180
Jeffrey A Nickerson, Fatemeh Momen-Heravi
{"title":"Long non-coding RNAs: roles in cellular stress responses and epigenetic mechanisms regulating chromatin.","authors":"Jeffrey A Nickerson, Fatemeh Momen-Heravi","doi":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2350180","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2350180","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Most of the genome is transcribed into RNA but only 2% of the sequence codes for proteins. Non-coding RNA transcripts include a very large number of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). A growing number of identified lncRNAs operate in cellular stress responses, for example in response to hypoxia, genotoxic stress, and oxidative stress. Additionally, lncRNA plays important roles in epigenetic mechanisms operating at chromatin and in maintaining chromatin architecture. Here, we address three lncRNA topics that have had significant recent advances. The first is an emerging role for many lncRNAs in cellular stress responses. The second is the development of high throughput screening assays to develop causal relationships between lncRNAs across the genome with cellular functions. Finally, we turn to recent advances in understanding the role of lncRNAs in regulating chromatin architecture and epigenetics, advances that build on some of the earliest work linking RNA to chromatin architecture.</p>","PeriodicalId":74323,"journal":{"name":"Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)","volume":"15 1","pages":"2350180"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11123517/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141077426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"PML Nuclear bodies: the cancer connection and beyond.","authors":"Majdouline Abou-Ghali, Valérie Lallemand-Breitenbach","doi":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2321265","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2321265","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Promyelocytic leukemia (PML) nuclear bodies, membrane-less organelles in the nucleus, play a crucial role in cellular homeostasis. These dynamic structures result from the assembly of scaffolding PML proteins and various partners. Recent crystal structure analyses revealed essential self-interacting domains, while liquid-liquid phase separation contributes to their formation. PML bodies orchestrate post-translational modifications, particularly stress-induced SUMOylation, impacting target protein functions. Serving as hubs in multiple signaling pathways, they influence cellular processes like senescence. Dysregulation of PML expression contributes to diseases, including cancer, highlighting their significance. Therapeutically, PML bodies are promising targets, exemplified by successful acute promyelocytic leukemia treatment with arsenic trioxide and retinoic acid restoring PML bodies. Understanding their functions illuminates both normal and pathological cellular physiology, guiding potential therapies. This review explores recent advancements in PML body biogenesis, biochemical activity, and their evolving biological roles.</p>","PeriodicalId":74323,"journal":{"name":"Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)","volume":"15 1","pages":"2321265"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10900273/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139974906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)Pub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2024-10-15DOI: 10.1080/19491034.2024.2413501
Hila Zohar, Liora Lindenboim, Oren Gozlan, Gregg G Gundersen, Howard J Worman, Reuven Stein
{"title":"Apoptosis-induced translocation of nesprin-2 from the nuclear envelope to mitochondria is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction.","authors":"Hila Zohar, Liora Lindenboim, Oren Gozlan, Gregg G Gundersen, Howard J Worman, Reuven Stein","doi":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2413501","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19491034.2024.2413501","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Accumulating evidence suggests that the nuclear envelope (NE) is not just a target, but also a mediator of apoptosis. We showed recently that the NE protein nesprin-2 has pro-apoptotic activity, which involves its subcellular redistribution and Bcl-2 proteins. Here we further characterize the pro-apoptotic activity of nesprin-2 focusing on its redistribution. We assessed the redistribution kinetics of endogenous nesprin-2 tagged with GFP relative to apoptosis-associated mitochondrial dysfunction. The results show apoptosis-induced GFP-nesprin-2G redistribution occurred by two different modes - complete and partial, both lead to appearance of nesprin-2G near the mitochondria. Moreover, GFP-nesprin-2 redistribution is associated with reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential and mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization and precedes the appearance of morphological features of apoptosis. Our results show that nesprin-2G redistribution and translocation near mitochondria is an early apoptotic effect associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, which may be responsible for the pro-apoptotic function of nesprin-2.</p>","PeriodicalId":74323,"journal":{"name":"Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)","volume":"15 1","pages":"2413501"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11486236/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142482535","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)Pub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2024-03-05DOI: 10.1080/19491034.2024.2319957
Matthew R King, Kiersten M Ruff, Rohit V Pappu
{"title":"Emergent microenvironments of nucleoli.","authors":"Matthew R King, Kiersten M Ruff, Rohit V Pappu","doi":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2319957","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2319957","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In higher eukaryotes, the nucleolus harbors at least three sub-phases that facilitate multiple functionalities including ribosome biogenesis. The three prominent coexisting sub-phases are the fibrillar center (FC), the dense fibrillar component (DFC), and the granular component (GC). Here, we review recent efforts in profiling sub-phase compositions that shed light on the types of physicochemical properties that emerge from compositional biases and territorial organization of specific types of macromolecules. We highlight roles played by molecular grammars which refers to protein sequence features including the substrate binding domains, the sequence features of intrinsically disordered regions, and the multivalence of these distinct types of domains / regions. We introduce the concept of a barcode of emergent physicochemical properties of nucleoli. Although our knowledge of the full barcode remains incomplete, we hope that the concept prompts investigations into undiscovered emergent properties and engenders an appreciation for how and why unique microenvironments control biochemical reactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":74323,"journal":{"name":"Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)","volume":"15 1","pages":"2319957"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10936679/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140041030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)Pub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2024-05-16DOI: 10.1080/19491034.2024.2351957
Ali Goktug Attar, Jaroslaw Paturej, Edward J Banigan, Aykut Erbaş
{"title":"Chromatin phase separation and nuclear shape fluctuations are correlated in a polymer model of the nucleus.","authors":"Ali Goktug Attar, Jaroslaw Paturej, Edward J Banigan, Aykut Erbaş","doi":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2351957","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2351957","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Abnormal cell nuclear shapes are hallmarks of diseases, including progeria, muscular dystrophy, and many cancers. Experiments have shown that disruption of heterochromatin and increases in euchromatin lead to nuclear deformations, such as blebs and ruptures. However, the physical mechanisms through which chromatin governs nuclear shape are poorly understood. To investigate how heterochromatin and euchromatin might govern nuclear morphology, we studied chromatin microphase separation in a composite coarse-grained polymer and elastic shell simulation model. By varying chromatin density, heterochromatin composition, and heterochromatin-lamina interactions, we show how the chromatin phase organization may perturb nuclear shape. Increasing chromatin density stabilizes the lamina against large fluctuations. However, increasing heterochromatin levels or heterochromatin-lamina interactions enhances nuclear shape fluctuations by a \"wetting\"-like interaction. In contrast, fluctuations are insensitive to heterochromatin's internal structure. Our simulations suggest that peripheral heterochromatin accumulation could perturb nuclear morphology, while nuclear shape stabilization likely occurs through mechanisms other than chromatin microphase organization.</p>","PeriodicalId":74323,"journal":{"name":"Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)","volume":"15 1","pages":"2351957"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11407394/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140961039","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)Pub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2024-08-12DOI: 10.1080/19491034.2024.2387534
Junyan Lin, Izabela Sumara
{"title":"Cytoplasmic nucleoporin assemblage: the cellular artwork in physiology and disease.","authors":"Junyan Lin, Izabela Sumara","doi":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2387534","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2387534","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nucleoporins, essential proteins building the nuclear pore, are pivotal for ensuring nucleocytoplasmic transport. While traditionally confined to the nuclear envelope, emerging evidence indicates their presence in various cytoplasmic structures, suggesting potential non-transport-related roles. This review consolidates findings on cytoplasmic nucleoporin assemblies across different states, including normal physiological conditions, stress, and pathology, exploring their structural organization, formation dynamics, and functional implications. We summarize the current knowledge and the latest concepts on the regulation of nucleoporin homeostasis, aiming to enhance our understanding of their unexpected roles in physiological and pathological processes.</p>","PeriodicalId":74323,"journal":{"name":"Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)","volume":"15 1","pages":"2387534"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11323873/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141972421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)Pub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2024-06-16DOI: 10.1080/19491034.2024.2360196
Jean-Clément Mars, Biljana Culjkovic-Kraljacic, Katherine L B Borden
{"title":"eIF4E orchestrates mRNA processing, RNA export and translation to modify specific protein production.","authors":"Jean-Clément Mars, Biljana Culjkovic-Kraljacic, Katherine L B Borden","doi":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2360196","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2360196","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4E acts as a multifunctional factor that simultaneously influences mRNA processing, export, and translation in many organisms. Its multifactorial effects are derived from its capacity to bind to the methyl-7-guanosine cap on the 5'end of mRNAs and thus can act as a cap chaperone for transcripts in the nucleus and cytoplasm. In this review, we describe the multifactorial roles of eIF4E in major mRNA-processing events including capping, splicing, cleavage and polyadenylation, nuclear export and translation. We discuss the evidence that eIF4E acts at two levels to generate widescale changes to processing, export and ultimately the protein produced. First, eIF4E alters the production of components of the mRNA processing machinery, supporting a widescale reprogramming of multiple mRNA processing events. In this way, eIF4E can modulate mRNA processing without physically interacting with target transcripts. Second, eIF4E also physically interacts with both capped mRNAs and components of the RNA processing or translation machineries. Further, specific mRNAs are sensitive to eIF4E only in particular mRNA processing events. This selectivity is governed by the presence of cis-acting elements within mRNAs known as USER codes that recruit relevant co-factors engaging the appropriate machinery. In all, we describe the molecular bases for eIF4E's multifactorial function and relevant regulatory pathways, discuss the basis for selectivity, present a compendium of ~80 eIF4E-interacting factors which play roles in these activities and provide an overview of the relevance of its functions to its oncogenic potential. Finally, we summarize early-stage clinical studies targeting eIF4E in cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":74323,"journal":{"name":"Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)","volume":"15 1","pages":"2360196"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11185188/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141332695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)Pub Date : 2024-12-01Epub Date: 2024-11-10DOI: 10.1080/19491034.2024.2426552
Thoru Pederson
{"title":"In remembrance: Joseph Gall.","authors":"Thoru Pederson","doi":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2426552","DOIUrl":"10.1080/19491034.2024.2426552","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A 14-year boy is given a microscope by his parents. It is not a toy - but a real microscope. He deploys it to rediscover the biology he had known before, but now in a magnified world. With extraordinary intellectual gifts he then, and manifestly later becomes absorbed by the idea that all this, however mysterious at first glance, might be subject to rational understanding, with painstaking study. Thus, was the genesis of one of the greatest cell biologists of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, Joseph Grafton Gall, who died 12 September 2024, at 96. He had been professionally active up until only a few years ago. There was no one like him in the modern era of cell biology and there will not be another figure like him anytime soon.</p>","PeriodicalId":74323,"journal":{"name":"Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)","volume":"15 1","pages":"2426552"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11556269/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142796617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}