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Dynamics and genome-centricity of interchromatin domains in the nucleus

Nature Cell Biology volume 4, pages E287–E291 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

The notion that the interior of the nucleus is compartmentalized goes back to the discovery of the nucleolus in the 1830s. Today, we know that numerous, discrete domains related to gene expression exist within the interchromatin spaces of the interphase nucleus. These domains might arise from, and thus be positioned by, the transcriptional activity of the chromosomes, themselves tethered to the nuclear envelope, or they might assemble autonomously. Beyond their roles in gene expression or other nuclear functions, the dynamic behaviour of some of these interchromatin domains is providing clues to the modes of mass transport operating in the nucleus, as well as to the long-elusive deep structure of the nucleoplasm.

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Figure 1: Some nuclear domains 'then and now'.
Figure 2: IGC tethering or mobility.

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Acknowledgements

The author's work is supported by US National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants GM-21595 and GM-60551, and Human Frontier Science Program Organization grant 1016B.

This paper is warmly dedicated to the memory of John T. Edsall (1902–2002), whose work inspired me and so many others, but whose friendship meant even more.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Program in Cell Dynamics University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, 01605, MA, USA

    Thoru Pederson

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Pederson, T. Dynamics and genome-centricity of interchromatin domains in the nucleus. Nat Cell Biol 4, E287–E291 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1202-e287

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