SummaryWhether gene repositioning to the nuclear periphery during differentiation adds another layer of regulation to gene expression remains controversial. Here, we resolve this by manipulating gene positions through targeting the nuclear envelope transmembrane proteins (NETs) that direct their normal repositioning during myogenesis. Combining transcriptomics with high-resolution DamID mapping of nuclear envelope-genome contacts, we show that three muscle-specific NETs, NET39, Tmem38A, and WFS1, direct specific myogenic genes to the nuclear periphery to facilitate their repression. Retargeting a NET39 fragment to nucleoli correspondingly repositioned a target gene, indicating a direct tethering mechanism. Being able to manipulate gene position independently of other changes in differentiation revealed that repositioning contributes ⅓ to ⅔ of a gene’s normal repression in myogenesis. Together, these NETs affect 37% of all genes changing expression during myogenesis, and their combined knockdown almost completely blocks myotube formation. This unequivocally demonstrates that NET-directed gene repositioning is critical for developmental gene regulation.

HighlightsX-linked female presenting with EDMD1 not explained by uneven X-inactivation.First EDMD blood phenotype with highly lobulated lymphocytes in EDMD1 patient.Found high incidence of spontaneous differentiation in cultured patient myoblasts.Faster proliferation of emerin-null than emerin-positive EDMD1 patient myoblasts.Loss of satellite cells from the above might explain EDMD pathology.

HighlightsAltered distribution of EDMD-linked proteins is not a general characteristic of EDMD.Tissue-specific proteins exhibit altered distributions in some EDMD patients.Variation in redistributed proteins in EDMD may underlie its clinical variability.

There are many ways that the nuclear envelope can influence the cell cycle. In addition to roles of lamins in regulating the master cell cycle regulator pRb and nuclear envelope breakdown in mitosis, many other nuclear envelope proteins influence the cell cycle through regulatory or structural functions. Of particular note among these are the nuclear envelope transmembrane proteins (NETs) that appear to influence cell cycle regulation through multiple separate mechanisms. Some NETs and other nuclear envelope proteins accumulate on the mitotic spindle, suggesting functional or structural roles in the cell cycle. In interphase exogenous overexpression of some NETs promotes an increase in G1 populations, while others promote an increase in G2/M populations, sometimes associated with the induction of senescence. Intriguingly, most of the NETs linked to the cell cycle are highly restricted in their tissue expression; thus, their misregulation in cancer could contribute to the many tissue-specific types of cancer.

It is a common misconception to view the "cyto"-skeleton as just the filament systems in the "cyto"-plasm. In fact, the cytoskeleton extends into the nucleus where the complex network connects to chromatin, and it also connects through the plasma membrane to the cytoskeleton of adjacent cells and to the "exo"-skeleton of the extracellular matrix. This review will focus principally on the subcomplex of the cytoskeleton associated with the nucleus, often referred to as the nucleoskeleton, but in the context of its extensive interconnectivity with the rest of the nucleus and with cytoplasmic filament systems all the way to the exoskeleton. The nucleoskeleton, made principally of type-V intermediate filament lamins, connects across the double membrane system of the nuclear envelope to likely all three primary cytoplasmic filament systems. It provides structural stability to the nucleus, and also incredible flexibility. In both its core structural aspect and through specificity gained by tissue-specific partner proteins, it contributes to genome organization and regulation as well as to signal transduction, both through chemical signaling cascades and likely through mechanotransduction. Defects in the nucleoskeleton have far-ranging effects due to its interactions with cytoplasmic filament systems, from mispositioning of nuclei to disruption of cell polarity and both decreased and increased cell migration depending on the defect. Accordingly, it is not surprising that many nucleoskeletal components are linked to a wide range of human diseases from specific types of cancer to muscular dystrophies, neuropathies, dermopathies, and premature aging syndromes.