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Nesprins in Cell Stability and Migration

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Book cover Cancer Biology and the Nuclear Envelope

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 773))

Abstract

Nesprins are a family of proteins that are primarily known for their localization along the nuclear envelope. Together with inner nuclear membrane SUN proteins, they form the core of the LINC (Linker of Nucleoskeleton and Cytoskeleton) complex that traverses both nuclear membranes to connect the cytoplasm and the nuclear interior. Based on their structure and interactions, Nesprins integrate the nucleus into the cytoskeleton of a cell. Mutations in Nesprins have been identified in a group of human diseases that have been summarized as laminopathies. Cellular functions of the Nesprins and recent studies on different cancer types additionally draw interest on Nesprins in the field of cancer research. Here we summarize recent findings about the structural arrangements of Nesprins along the nuclear envelope, and highlight Nesprin functions in basic cellular processes like maintenance of nuclear shape and size, and of nuclear and cellular or cytoskeletal organization, centrosomal positioning, cell migration, and signal transduction. In summary, Nesprins are involved in critical cellular processes, which in case of malfunction contribute to the formation of cancer and might represent novel targets in cancer diagnosis or for therapeutic intervention.

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Abbreviations

ABD:

Actin binding domain

ChIP:

Chromatin ImmunoPrecipitation

INM:

Inner nuclear membrane

IKNM:

Interkinetic nuclear migration

KASH:

Klarsicht ANC-1, Syne homology

LINC:

Linker of Nucleoskeleton and Cytoskeleton

MTOC:

Microtubule organizing center

NE:

Nuclear envelope

Nesprin:

Nuclear envelope spectrin repeat protein

ONM:

Outer nuclear membrane

PML:

Promyelocytic leukemia

SUN:

Sad1p Unc84

SR:

Spectrin repeat

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Faculty, Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Institute for Biochemistry I, University of Cologne, Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 52, 50931, Cologne, Germany

    Sascha Neumann

  2. Medical Faculty, Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 52, 50931, Cologne, Germany

    Angelika A. Noegel

  3. Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 52, 50931, Cologne, Germany

    Angelika A. Noegel

Authors
  1. Sascha Neumann
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  2. Angelika A. Noegel
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Correspondence to Sascha Neumann .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Edinburgh Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

    Eric C. Schirmer

  2. University of Edinburgh Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

    Jose I. de las Heras

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Neumann, S., Noegel, A.A. (2014). Nesprins in Cell Stability and Migration. In: Schirmer, E., de las Heras, J. (eds) Cancer Biology and the Nuclear Envelope. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 773. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-8032-8_22

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