scholarly journals Lamins in disease: why do ubiquitously expressed nuclear envelope proteins give rise to tissue-specific disease phenotypes?

2001 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.J. Hutchison ◽  
M. Alvarez-Reyes ◽  
O.A. Vaughan

The nuclear lamina is a filamentous structure composed of lamins that supports the inner nuclear membrane. Several integral membrane proteins including emerin, LBR, LAP1 and LAP2 bind to nuclear lamins in vitro and can influence lamin function and dynamics in vivo. Results from various studies suggest that lamins function in DNA replication and nuclear envelope assembly and determine the size and shape of the nuclear envelope. In addition, lamins also bind chromatin and certain DNA sequences, and might influence chromosome position. Recent evidence has revealed that mutations in A-type lamins give rise to a range of rare, but dominant, genetic disorders, including Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, dilated cardiomyopathy with conduction-system disease and Dunnigan-type familial partial lipodystrophy. An examination of how lamins A/C, emerin and other integral membrane proteins interact at the INM provides the basis for a novel model for how mutations that promote disease phenotypes are likely to influence these interactions and therefore cause cellular pathology through a combination of weakness of the lamina or altered gene expression.

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e202101162
Author(s):  
Yuta Endo ◽  
Yuko Shimizu ◽  
Hanako Nishikawa ◽  
Katsuhiro Sawasato ◽  
Ken-ichi Nishiyama

Integral membrane proteins with the N-out topology are inserted into membranes usually in YidC- and PMF-dependent manners. The molecular basis of the various dependencies on insertion factors is not fully understood. A model protein, Pf3-Lep, is inserted independently of both YidC and PMF, whereas the V15D mutant requires both YidC and PMF in vivo. We analyzed the mechanisms that determine the insertion factor dependency in vitro. Glycolipid MPIase was required for insertion of both proteins because MPIase depletion caused a significant defect in insertion. On the other hand, YidC depletion and PMF dissipation had no effects on Pf3-Lep insertion, whereas V15D insertion was reduced. We reconstituted (proteo)liposomes containing MPIase, YidC, and/or F0F1-ATPase. MPIase was essential for insertion of both proteins. YidC and PMF stimulated Pf3-Lep insertion as the synthesis level increased. V15D insertion was stimulated by both YidC and PMF irrespective of the synthesis level. These results indicate that charges in the N-terminal region and the synthesis level are the determinants of YidC and PMF dependencies with the interplay between MPIase, YidC, and PMF.


1986 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 2389-2402 ◽  
Author(s):  
W A Muller ◽  
M A Gimbrone

Vascular endothelium in vivo appears to function as a polarized epithelium. To determine whether cellular polarity exists at the level of the plasma membrane, we have examined cultured endothelial monolayers for evidence of differential distribution of externally disposed plasmalemmal proteins at apical and basal cell surfaces. Lactoperoxidase beads were used to selectively label the apical surfaces of confluent endothelial monolayers, the total surfaces of nonenzymatically resuspended cells, and the basal surfaces of monolayers inverted on poly-L-lysine-coated coverslips, while maintaining greater than 98% viability in all samples. Comparison of the SDS PAGE radioiodination patterns obtained for each surface revealed a number of specific bands markedly enriched on either apical or basal surface. This polarized distribution involved membrane-associated as well as integral membrane proteins and was observed in several strains of bovine aortic endothelial cells, as well as in both primary and passaged human umbilical vein endothelial cells. In contrast, two morphologically nonpolarized cell types, bovine aortic smooth muscle and mouse peritoneal macrophages, did not display differential localization of integral membrane proteins. Polarized distribution of integral membrane proteins was established before the formation of a confluent monolayer. When inverted (basal-side-up) monolayers were returned to culture, the apical-side-up pattern was reexpressed within a few days. These results demonstrate that cell surface-selective expression of plasmalemmal proteins is an intrinsic property of viable endothelial cells in vitro. This apical/basal asymmetry of membrane structure may provide a basis for polarized endothelial functions in vivo.


2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 408-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Booth ◽  
R. H. Templer ◽  
A. R. Curran ◽  
S. J. Allen

Protein folding has been at the forefront of molecular cell biology research for several years. However, integral membrane proteins have eluded detailed molecular level study until recently. One reason is the often apparently insurmountable problem of mimicking the natural membrane bilayer with lipid or detergent mixtures. There is nevertheless a large body of information on lipid properties and in particular on phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine lipids, which are common to many biological membranes. We have exploited this knowledge to design efficient in vitro, lipid-bilayer folding systems for membrane proteins. Bacteriorhodopsin has been used as a model system for our initial studies: we have shown that a rate-limiting apoprotein folding step and the overall folding efficiency seem to be controlled by particular properties of the lipid bilayer. The properties of interest are the stored curvature elastic energy within the bilayer and the lateral pressure that the lipid chains exert on their neighbouring folding protein. These are generic properties of the bilayer that can be achieved with simple mixtures of many types of biological lipid and seem to be important in vivo.


1999 ◽  
Vol 147 (6) ◽  
pp. 1195-1204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Yamaguchi ◽  
Osamu Hori ◽  
David M. Stern ◽  
Enno Hartmann ◽  
Satoshi Ogawa ◽  
...  

Application of differential display to cultured rat astrocytes subjected to hypoxia allowed cloning of a novel cDNA, termed stress-associated endoplasmic reticulum protein 1 (SERP1). Expression of SERP1 was enhanced in vitro by hypoxia and/or reoxygenation or other forms of stress, causing accumulation of unfolded proteins in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and in vivo by middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats. The SERP1 cDNA encodes a 66–amino acid polypeptide which was found to be identical to ribosome-associated membrane protein 4 (RAMP4) and bearing 29% identity to yeast suppressor of SecY 6 protein (YSY6p), suggesting participation in pathways controlling membrane protein biogenesis at ER. In cultured 293 cells subjected to ER stress, overexpression of SERP1/RAMP4 suppressed aggregation and/or degradation of newly synthesized integral membrane proteins, and subsequently, facilitated their glycosylation when the stress was removed. SERP1/RAMP4 interacted with Sec61α and Sec61β, which are subunits of translocon, and a molecular chaperon calnexin. Furthermore, Sec61α and Sec61β, but not SERP1/RAMP4, were found to associate with newly synthesized integral membrane proteins under stress. These results suggest that stabilization of membrane proteins in response to stress involves the concerted action of a rescue unit in the ER membrane comprised of SERP1/RAMP4, other components of translocon, and molecular chaperons in ER.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6866-6875 ◽  
Author(s):  
D C Hagen ◽  
L Bruhn ◽  
C A Westby ◽  
G F Sprague

Transcription activation of alpha-specific genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is regulated by two proteins, MCM1 and alpha 1, which bind to DNA sequences, called P'Q elements, found upstream of alpha-specific genes. Neither MCM1 nor alpha 1 alone binds efficiently to P'Q elements. Together, however, they bind cooperatively in a manner that requires both the P' sequence, which is a weak binding site for MCM1, and the Q sequence, which has been postulated to be the binding site for alpha 1. We analyzed a collection of point mutations in the P'Q element of the STE3 gene to determine the importance of individual base pairs for alpha-specific gene transcription. Within the 10-bp conserved Q sequence, mutations at only three positions strongly affected transcription activation in vivo. These same mutations did not affect the weak binding to P'Q displayed by MCM1 alone. In vitro DNA binding assays showed a direct correlation between the ability of the mutant sequences to form ternary P'Q-MCM1-alpha 1 complexes and the degree to which transcription was activated in vivo. Thus, the ability of alpha 1 and MCM1 to bind cooperatively to P'Q elements is critical for activation of alpha-specific genes. In all natural alpha-specific genes the Q sequence is adjacent to the degenerate side of P'. To test the significance of this geometry, we created several novel juxtapositions of P, P', and Q sequences. When the Q sequence was opposite the degenerate side, the composite QP' element was inactive as a promoter element in vivo and unable to form stable ternary QP'-MCM1-alpha 1 complexes in vitro. We also found that addition of a Q sequence to a strong MCM1 binding site allows the addition of alpha 1 to the complex. This finding, together with the observation that Q-element point mutations affected ternary complex formation but not the weak binding of MCM1 alone, supports the idea that the Q sequence serves as a binding site for alpha 1.


2001 ◽  
Vol 114 (24) ◽  
pp. 4575-4585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tokuko Haraguchi ◽  
Takako Koujin ◽  
Miriam Segura-Totten ◽  
Kenneth K. Lee ◽  
Yosuke Matsuoka ◽  
...  

Mutations in emerin cause the X-linked recessive form of Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD). Emerin localizes at the inner membrane of the nuclear envelope (NE) during interphase, and diffuses into the ER when the NE disassembles during mitosis. We analyzed the recruitment of wildtype and mutant GFP-tagged emerin proteins during nuclear envelope assembly in living HeLa cells. During telophase, emerin accumulates briefly at the ‘core’ region of telophase chromosomes, and later distributes over the entire nuclear rim. Barrier-to-autointegration factor (BAF), a protein that binds nonspecifically to double-stranded DNA in vitro, co-localized with emerin at the ‘core’ region of chromosomes during telophase. An emerin mutant defective for binding to BAF in vitro failed to localize at the ‘core’ in vivo, and subsequently failed to localize at the reformed NE. In HeLa cells that expressed BAF mutant G25E, which did not show ‘core’ localization, the endogenous emerin proteins failed to localize at the ‘core’ region during telophase, and did not assemble into the NE during the subsequent interphase. BAF mutant G25E also dominantly dislocalized LAP2β and lamin A from the NE, but had no effect on the localization of lamin B. We conclude that BAF is required for the assembly of emerin and A-type lamins at the reforming NE during telophase, and may mediate their stability in the subsequent interphase.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (7) ◽  
pp. 2276-2285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria De La Luz Sierra ◽  
Paola Gasperini ◽  
Peter J. McCormick ◽  
Jinfang Zhu ◽  
Giovanna Tosato

The mechanisms underlying granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)–induced mobilization of granulocytic lineage cells from the bone marrow to the peripheral blood remain elusive. We provide evidence that the transcriptional repressor growth factor independence-1 (Gfi-1) is involved in G-CSF–induced mobilization of granulocytic lineage cells from the bone marrow to the peripheral blood. We show that in vitro and in vivo G-CSF promotes expression of Gfi-1 and down-regulates expression of CXCR4, a chemokine receptor essential for the retention of hematopoietic stem cells and granulocytic cells in the bone marrow. Gfi-1 binds to DNA sequences upstream of the CXCR4 gene and represses CXCR4 expression in myeloid lineage cells. As a consequence, myeloid cell responses to the CXCR4 unique ligand SDF-1 are reduced. Thus, Gfi-1 not only regulates hematopoietic stem cell function and myeloid cell development but also probably promotes the release of granulocytic lineage cells from the bone marrow to the peripheral blood by reducing CXCR4 expression and function.


Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 162
Author(s):  
Marianne Grafe ◽  
Petros Batsios ◽  
Irene Meyer ◽  
Daria Lisin ◽  
Otto Baumann ◽  
...  

Nuclear lamins are nucleus-specific intermediate filaments (IF) found at the inner nuclear membrane (INM) of the nuclear envelope (NE). Together with nuclear envelope transmembrane proteins, they form the nuclear lamina and are crucial for gene regulation and mechanical robustness of the nucleus and the whole cell. Recently, we characterized Dictyostelium NE81 as an evolutionarily conserved lamin-like protein, both on the sequence and functional level. Here, we show on the structural level that the Dictyostelium NE81 is also capable of assembling into filaments, just as metazoan lamin filament assemblies. Using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, we show that NE81 expressed in Xenopous oocytes forms filamentous structures with an overall appearance highly reminiscent of Xenopus lamin B2. The in vitro assembly properties of recombinant His-tagged NE81 purified from Dictyostelium extracts are very similar to those of metazoan lamins. Super-resolution stimulated emission depletion (STED) and expansion microscopy (ExM), as well as transmission electron microscopy of negatively stained purified NE81, demonstrated its capability of forming filamentous structures under low-ionic-strength conditions. These results recommend Dictyostelium as a non-mammalian model organism with a well-characterized nuclear envelope involving all relevant protein components known in animal cells.


Cells ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Gorab

Polynucleotide chains obeying Watson-Crick pairing are apt to form non-canonical complexes such as triple-helical nucleic acids. From early characterization in vitro, their occurrence in vivo has been strengthened by increasing evidence, although most remain circumstantial particularly for triplex DNA. Here, different approaches were employed to specify triple-stranded DNA sequences in the Drosophila melanogaster chromosomes. Antibodies to triplex nucleic acids, previously characterized, bind to centromeric regions of mitotic chromosomes and also to the polytene section 59E of mutant strains carrying the brown dominant allele, indicating that AAGAG tandem satellite repeats are triplex-forming sequences. The satellite probe hybridized to AAGAG-containing regions omitting chromosomal DNA denaturation, as expected, for the intra-molecular triplex DNA formation model in which single-stranded DNA coexists with triplexes. In addition, Thiazole Orange, previously described as capable of reproducing results obtained by antibodies to triple-helical DNA, binds to AAGAG repeats in situ thus validating both detection methods. Unusual phenotype and nuclear structure exhibited by Drosophila correlate with the non-canonical conformation of tandem satellite arrays. From the approaches that lead to the identification of triple-helical DNA in chromosomes, facilities particularly provided by Thiazole Orange use may broaden the investigation on the occurrence of triplex DNA in eukaryotic genomes.


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