Nuclear Envelope: Nanoarray Responsive to Aldosterone

Abstract

In 1994 a paper was published that contained a rather unusual observation made with a rather unusual technique (Oberleithner et al. 1994). The unusual observation was the increase in number of nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) in nuclear envelopes of kidney cells in response to aldosterone and the unusual technique applied in this study was atomic force microscopy (AFM). At that time, aldosterone had been considered as a hormone that controlled fluid and electrolyte balance in kidney through regulation of plasma membrane ion channels and transporters but virtually nothing was known about its interaction with the nuclear barrier. Possibly, those AFM experiments were born of the desperate desire of a few renal physiologists who wanted to apply a new nanotechnique, originally developed by physicists working in the material sciences (Binnig and Quate 1986), on a biological membrane with some relevance for kidney function. In the meantime 10 years have passed. Aldosterone underwent a dazzling metamorphosis in terms of site and mode of action (Oberleithner 2004). Atomic force microscopy developed into a useful tool in the biological sciences (Roco 2003). Finally, the nuclear envelope advanced to an extensively explored membrane system that selectively passes signals from outside into the nucleus (Gerasimenko et al. 2003). In this short review chapter I will focus on recent developments in this field