Recruitment to the nuclear periphery can alter expression of genes in human cells.

ABSTRACT: The spatial organisation of the genome in the nucleus has a role in the regulation of gene expression. In vertebrates, chromosomal regions with low gene-density are located close to the nuclear periphery. Correlations have also been made between the transcriptional state of some genes and their location near the nuclear periphery. However, a crucial issue is whether this level of nuclear organisation directly affects gene function, rather than merely reflecting it. To directly investigate whether proximity to the nuclear periphery can influence gene expression in mammalian cells, here we relocate specific human chromosomes to the nuclear periphery by tethering them to a protein of the inner nuclear membrane. We show that this can reversibly suppress the expression of some endogenous human

SUBMITTER: Finlan LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2265557 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature