bims-nucpor 2021-07-18 papers

Issue of 2021‒07‒18
two papers selected by
Sara Mingu
Johannes Gutenberg University

Commun Integr Biol. 2021 ;14(1): 158-175

Regulation of diverse nuclear shapes: pathways working independently, together.

Membrane-bound organelles provide physical and functional compartmentalization of biological processes in eukaryotic cells. The characteristic shape and internal organization of these organelles is determined by a combination of multiple internal and external factors. The maintenance of the shape of nucleus, which houses the genetic material within a double membrane bilayer, is crucial for a seamless spatio-temporal control over nuclear and cellular functions. Dynamic morphological changes in the shape of nucleus facilitate various biological processes. Chromatin packaging, nuclear and cytosolic protein organization, and nuclear membrane lipid homeostasis are critical determinants of overall nuclear morphology. As such, a multitude of molecular players and pathways act together to regulate the nuclear shape. Here, we review the known mechanisms governing nuclear shape in various unicellular and multicellular organisms, including the non-spherical nuclei and non-lamin-related structural determinants. The review also touches upon cellular consequences of aberrant nuclear morphologies.

Keywords: Nucleus; lamins; morphology; nuclear envelope; nuclear organization; nuclear pore complex; nuclear shape

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2021.1939942

Virus Res. 2021 Jul 13. pii: S0168-1702(21)00211-2. [Epub ahead of print] 198504

Effects of CRM1-dependent nuclear export inhibition on viral structural protein nuclear accumulation during Autographa californica Multiple Nucleopolyhedrovirus Infection.

Xue Hu, Lingqian Tian, Jingqi Li, Yuan Zhou, Xinwen Chen, Jingfang Mu, Huimin Bai, Yongli Zhang, Yun Wang.

Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) assembles its nucleocapsids and occlusion-derived virions (ODVs) in the nucleus, which requires AcMNPV regulation for viral structural proteins to accumulate in the nucleus during its replication in cells. It is generally accepted that the nuclear import receptor plays a predominant role in this process. CRM1 is a nuclear export receptor that forms an export complex with its cargo protein to exit the nucleus. We previously discovered that AcMNPV inhibited CRM1-dependent nuclear export by the viral protein Ac34. This finding suggested that Ac34 could sequester CRM1-dependent proteins in the nucleus and play a novel role in the nuclear accumulation of viral structural proteins. Using the CRM1 inhibitor leptomycin B (LMB), we demonstrated that CRM1 inhibition promoted AcMNPV replication, as LMB treatment readily increased the virus titer, and even functionally surrogate Ac34 to rescue the infectivity of an ac34-knockout virus. To elucidate whether CRM1 inhibition contributes to the nuclear accumulation of viral structural proteins, we systematically analyzed the impact of CRM1 inhibition on viral protein spatial distribution patterns. We found that the nucleocapsid protein Ac102 and ODV envelope protein E26 were retained in the nucleus in response to CRM1 inhibition by Ac34. This finding indicates that AcMNPV is evolving to simultaneously exploit bidirectional nucleocytoplasmic trafficking to assist in viral replication.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virusres.2021.198504