bims-nucpor 2021-12-26 papers

Issue of 2021‒12‒26
six papers selected by
Sara Mingu
Johannes Gutenberg University

Cells. 2021 Dec 20. pii: 3601. [Epub ahead of print]10(12):

Dunking into the Lipid Bilayer: How Direct Membrane Binding of Nucleoporins Can Contribute to Nuclear Pore Complex Structure and Assembly.

Mohamed Hamed, Wolfram Antonin.

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) mediate the selective and highly efficient transport between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. They are embedded in the two membrane structure of the nuclear envelope at sites where these two membranes are fused to pores. A few transmembrane proteins are an integral part of NPCs and thought to anchor these complexes in the nuclear envelope. In addition, a number of nucleoporins without membrane spanning domains interact with the pore membrane. Here we review our current knowledge of how these proteins interact with the membrane and how this interaction can contribute to NPC assembly, stability and function as well as shaping of the pore membrane.

Keywords: ALPS motif; Nup153; Nup155; Nup53; Y-complex; amphipathic helix; membrane curvature

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10123601

bioRxiv. 2021 Dec 13. pii: 2021.12.10.472151. [Epub ahead of print]

Quantification of nuclear transport inhibition by SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 using a broadly applicable live-cell dose-response pipeline.

Tae Yeon Yoo, Timothy Mitchison.

SARS coronavirus ORF6 inhibits the classical nuclear import pathway to antagonize host antiviral responses. Several models were proposed to explain its inhibitory function, but quantitative measurement is needed for model evaluation and refinement. We report a broadly applicable live-cell method for calibrated dose-response characterization of the nuclear transport alteration by a protein of interest. Using this method, we found that SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 is âˆ¼5 times more potent than SARS-CoV-1 ORF6 in inhibiting bidirectional nuclear transport, due to differences in the NUP98-binding C-terminal region that is required for the inhibition. The N-terminal region was also required, but its membrane binding function was dispensable, since loss of the inhibitory function due to N-terminal truncation was rescued by forced oligomerization using a soluble construct. Based on these data, we propose that the hydrophobic N-terminal region drives oligomerization of ORF6 to multivalently cross-link the FG domains of NUP98 at the nuclear pore complex.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.10.472151

Front Immunol. 2021 ;12 771065

Regulation of Plant Immunity by Nuclear Membrane-Associated Mechanisms.

Yiling Fang, Yangnan Gu.

Unlike animals, plants do not have specialized immune cells and lack an adaptive immune system. Instead, plant cells rely on their unique innate immune system to defend against pathogens and coordinate beneficial interactions with commensal and symbiotic microbes. One of the major convergent points for plant immune signaling is the nucleus, where transcriptome reprogramming is initiated to orchestrate defense responses. Mechanisms that regulate selective transport of nuclear signaling cargo and chromatin activity at the nuclear boundary play a pivotal role in immune activation. This review summarizes the current knowledge of how nuclear membrane-associated core protein and protein complexes, including the nuclear pore complex, nuclear transport receptors, and the nucleoskeleton participate in plant innate immune activation and pathogen resistance. We also discuss the role of their functional counterparts in regulating innate immunity in animals and highlight potential common mechanisms that contribute to nuclear membrane-centered immune regulation in higher eukaryotes.

Keywords: innate immune system; nuclear envelope (NE); nuclear lamina; nuclear pore complex (NPC); nuclear transport receptors (NTRs); nucleocytoplasmic continuum; nucleoskeletal proteins; plant Immunity

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.771065

Genes (Basel). 2021 Dec 17. pii: 2010. [Epub ahead of print]12(12):

SUMO-Based Regulation of Nuclear Positioning to Spatially Regulate Homologous Recombination Activities at Replication Stress Sites.

Kamila Schirmeisen, Sarah A E Lambert, Karol Kramarz.

DNA lesions have properties that allow them to escape their nuclear compartment to achieve DNA repair in another one. Recent studies uncovered that the replication fork, when its progression is impaired, exhibits increased mobility when changing nuclear positioning and anchors to nuclear pore complexes, where specific types of homologous recombination pathways take place. In yeast models, increasing evidence points out that nuclear positioning is regulated by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) metabolism, which is pivotal to maintaining genome integrity at sites of replication stress. Here, we review how SUMO-based pathways are instrumental to spatially segregate the subsequent steps of homologous recombination during replication fork restart. In particular, we discussed how routing towards nuclear pore complex anchorage allows distinct homologous recombination pathways to take place at halted replication forks.

Keywords: DNA; SUMO; chromatin mobility; genome stability; homologous recombination; nuclear pore complex; replication stress; yeast

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12122010

Sci Rep. 2021 Dec 24. 11(1): 24415

In vivo pair correlation microscopy reveals dengue virus capsid protein nucleocytoplasmic bidirectional movement in mammalian infected cells.

Ignacio Sallaberry, Alexis Luszczak, Natalia Philipp, Guadalupe S Costa Navarro, Manuela V Gabriel, Enrico Gratton, Andrea V Gamarnik, Laura C Estrada.

Flaviviruses are major human disease-causing pathogens, including dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus, yellow fever virus and others. DENV infects hundreds of millions of people per year around the world, causing a tremendous social and economic burden. DENV capsid (C) protein plays an essential role during genome encapsidation and viral particle formation. It has been previously shown that DENV C enters the nucleus in infected cells. However, whether DENV C protein exhibits nuclear export remains unclear. By spatially cross-correlating different regions of the cell, we investigated DENV C movement across the nuclear envelope during the infection cycle. We observed that transport takes place in both directions and with similar translocation times (in the ms time scale) suggesting a bidirectional movement of both C protein import and export.Furthermore, from the pair cross-correlation functions in cytoplasmic or nuclear regions we found two populations of C molecules in each compartment with fast and slow mobilities. While in the cytoplasm the correlation times were in the 2-6 and 40-110 ms range for the fast and slow mobility populations respectively, in the cell nucleus they were 1-10 and 25-140 ms range, respectively. The fast mobility of DENV C in cytoplasmic and nuclear regions agreed with the diffusion coefficients from Brownian motion previously reported from correlation analysis. These studies provide the first evidence of DENV C shuttling from and to the nucleus in infected cells, opening new venues for antiviral interventions.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-03854-z

Cancers (Basel). 2021 Dec 07. pii: 6161. [Epub ahead of print]13(24):

Therapeutic Targeting of Exportin-1 in Childhood Cancer.

Basia Galinski, Thomas B Alexander, Daniel A Mitchell, Hannah V Chatwin, Chidiebere Awah, Adam L Green, Daniel A Weiser.

Overexpression of Exportin-1 (XPO1), a key regulator of nuclear-to-cytoplasmic transport, is associated with inferior patient outcomes across a range of adult malignancies. Targeting XPO1 with selinexor has demonstrated promising results in clinical trials, leading to FDA approval of its use for multiple relapsed/refractory cancers. However, XPO1 biology and selinexor sensitivity in childhood cancer is only recently being explored. In this review, we will focus on the differential biology of childhood and adult cancers as it relates to XPO1 and key cargo proteins. We will further explore the current state of pre-clinical and clinical development of XPO1 inhibitors in childhood cancers. Finally, we will outline potentially promising future therapeutic strategies for, as well as potential challenges to, integrating XPO1 inhibition to improve outcomes for children with cancer.

Keywords: Exportin-1; SINE compounds; childhood cancer; nuclear export; selinexor

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13246161