Lecture 5 - Nuclear organisation Flashcards
How can nuclei change in cancer?
- Shape and margin irregularity
- changes to chromatin compaction/texture
- altered nucleoli
- variations in size
When is heterochromatin replicated?
late in S phase
When is euchromatin replicated?
Usually earlier in S phase
Why is euchromatin replicated early in S phase?
So the cell has 2 copied of it for longer
What is a SARs or MARs?
Scaffold/Matrix Attachment Regions
What do some people believe about the nuclear matrix?
There is an interconnecting network extending from the nuclear matrix through the cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix
Why is it difficult to see the ‘interconnecting network’?
Usually studied in cultured cells which are different from cells in tissues
How is chromatin organised?
In loop attachments formed by periodic attachment to the nuclear matrix MARs and SARs
What happens at the base of the loops of chromatin?
Site of assembly of molecular machines involved in txn, splicing and DNA replication
Why is it good that everything happens at the loops of chromatin?
Regulatory elements can all come together there
How can the loops of chromatin cause disease?
- SATB1 (special AT-rich binding protein) is normally at loop bases
- Loss deregulates expression oof 2% of genes
- In KO genes move from loop from base
- Overexpression linked with aggressive breast and prostate cancer
- Shows importance of spatial arrangement
What are nucleoli?
Sites of ribosome synthesis
What is in the nucleus?
Chromatin occupies 35% of volume
Matrix occupies 10%
How is chromatin organised in interphase?
Distinct chromosomal bands segregate into different regions giving rise to chromosome territories.
Resulting in establishment of distinct high order genome compartments with functionally distinct chromatin fractions
What can you see when you differentially fluorescently label 2 chromosomes?
They move to different parts of the nucleus