Ran及其结合与调控蛋白在核膜装配过程中的调控作用

核膜在细胞周期中呈现高度的动态性：在细胞分裂的前中期,核膜崩解并分散到细胞质中;在细胞分裂的后期,核膜开始在染色体的表面重新装配,最终形成完整的核膜结构。近期的研究发现,Ran GTP酶、物质转运蛋白importinβ、内层核膜蛋白LBR（lamin B receptor）以及核孔复合体蛋白nucleoporins在核膜重建的过程中起关键性调控作用,并受到细胞周期调控因子p34cdc2激酶的调节。LBR是一个八次跨膜的膜蛋白,主要定位于内层核膜。在细胞分裂的早期,随着核膜崩解,LBR与核膜崩解而生成的小膜泡一起分散到细胞质中;在细胞分裂的后期,通过LBR与importinβ相互结合,含有LBR的膜泡被importinβ携带至染色质的表面参与核膜重建。目前已知p34cdc2激酶对LBR与importinβ介导的核膜重建起重要调控作用。Nucleoporins是核孔复合体主要组分。随核膜崩解,核孔复合体解聚成nucleoporins,分散到细胞质中,或结合到其他亚细胞成分上。细胞分裂后期,核孔复合体伴随核膜装配而组装。     

Remodeling the sperm nucleus into a male pronucleus at fertilization

After fertilization, the dormant sperm nucleus undergoes morphological and biochemical transformations leading to the development of a functional nucleus, the male pronucleus. We have investigated the formation of the male pronucleus in a cell-free system consisting of permeabilized sea urchin sperm nuclei incubated in fertilized sea urchin egg extract containing membrane vesicles. The first sperm nuclear alteration in vitro is the disassembly of the sperm nuclear lamina as a result of lamin phosphorylation mediated by egg protein kinase C. The conical sperm nucleus decondenses into a spherical pronucleus in an ATP-dependent manner. The new nuclear envelope (NE) forms by ATP-dependent binding of vesicles to chromatin and GTP-dependent fusion of vesicles to each other. Three cytoplasmic membrane vesicle fractions with distinct biochemical, chromatin-binding and fusion properties, are required for pronuclear envelope assembly. Binding of each fraction to chromatin requires two detergent-resistant lipophilic structures at each pole of the sperm nucleus, which are incorporated into the NE by membrane fusion. Targeting of the bulk of NE vesicles to chromatin is mediated by a lamin B receptor (LBR)-like integral membrane protein. The last step of male pronuclear formation involves nuclear swelling. Nuclear swelling is associated with import of soluble lamin B into the nucleus and growth of the nuclear envelope by fusion of additional vesicles. In the nucleus, lamin B associates with LBR, which apparently tethers the NE to the lamina. Thus male pronuclear envelope assembly in vitro involves a highly ordered series of events. These events are similar to those characterizing the remodeling of somatic and embryonic nuclei transplanted into oocytes. The relationship between sperm nuclear remodeling at fertilization and nuclear remodeling after nuclear transplantation is discussed.     

Requirement for Lamin B Receptor and Its Regulation by Importin β and Phosphorylation in Nuclear Envelope Assembly during Mitotic Exit

Lamin B receptor (LBR), a chromatin and lamin B-binding protein in the inner nuclear membrane, has been proposed to target the membrane precursor vesicles to chromatin mediated by importin β during the nuclear envelope (NE) assembly. However, the mechanisms for the binding of LBR with importin β and the membrane targeting by LBR in NE assembly remain largely unknown. In this report, we show that the amino acids (aa) 69–90 of LBR sequences are required to bind with importin β at aa 45–462, and the binding is essential for the NE membrane precursor vesicle targeting to the chromatin during the NE assembly at the end of mitosis. We also show that this binding is cell cycle-regulated and dependent on the phosphorylation of LBR Ser-71 by p34^cdc2 kinase. RNAi knockdown of LBR causes the NE assembly failure and abnormal chromatin decondensation of the daughter cell nuclei, leading to the daughter cell death at early G₁ phase by apoptosis. Perturbation of the interaction of LBR with importin β by deleting the LBR N-terminal spanning region or aa 69–73 also induces the NE assembly failure, the abnormal chromatin decondensation, and the daughter cell death. The first transmembrane domain of LBR promotes the NE production and expansion, because overexpressing this domain is sufficient to induce membrane overproduction of the NE. Thus, these results demonstrate that LBR targets the membrane precursor vesicles to chromatin by interacting with importin β in a LBR phosphorylation-dependent manner during the NE assembly at the end of mitosis and that the first transmembrane domain of LBR promotes the LBR-bearing membrane production and the NE expansion in interphase.     

Targeting of membranes to sea urchin sperm chromatin is mediated by a lamin B receptor-like integral membrane protein

We have identified an integral membrane protein of sea urchin gametes with an apparent molecular mass of 56 kD that cross-reacts with an antibody against the nucleoplasmic NH2-terminal domain of human lamin B receptor (LBR). In mature sperm, p56 is located at the tip and base of the nucleus from where it is removed by egg cytosol in vitro. In the egg, p56 is present in a subset of cytoplasmic membranes (MV2 beta) which contributes the bulk of the nuclear envelope during male pronuclear formation. p56-containing vesicles are required for nuclear envelope assembly and have a chromatin-binding capacity that is mediated by p56. Lamin B is not present in these vesicles and is imported into the nucleus from a soluble pool at a later stage of pronuclear formation. Lamin B incorporation and addition of new membranes are necessary for pronuclear swelling and nuclear envelope growth. We suggest that p56 is a sea urchin LBR homologue that targets membranes to chromatin and later anchors the membrane to the lamina.     

Rearrangements of sea urchin egg cytoplasmic membrane domains at fertilization

Fertilization in the sea urchin is accompanied by rapid reorganization of the egg endoplasmic reticulum (ER). ER-derived vesicles contribute to one of three classes of membranes used in assembling the male pronuclear envelope in vitro. We provide here biochemical evidence for the rearrangement of sea urchin egg cytoplasmic membrane domains at fertilization up to the first mitosis, with respect to two nuclear envelope markers, lamin B and lamin B receptor (LBR), using purified vesicles prepared from homogenates fractionated by floatation on sucrose gradients. In unfertilized eggs, immunoprecipitation data indicate that most of lamin B and LBR are localized in the same vesicles but do not interact. By 3 min post-fertilization, both proteins are more widely distributed across the gradients and by 12 min most of lamin B and LBR are localized in vesicles of different densities. This partitioning is maintained throughout S phase. At mitosis, most lamin B and LBR remain in distinct vesicles, while a small proportion of lamin B and LBR, likely derived from the disassembled nuclear envelope, associate in a minor subset of vesicles. The results illustrate a dynamic reorganization of egg cytoplasmic membranes at fertilization, and the establishment of distinct membrane domains enriched in specific nuclear envelope markers during the first cell cycle of sea urchin development. Additionally, we demonstrate that male pro-nuclear membrane assembly occurs only when both cytosol and membranes originate from fertilized but not unfertilized eggs, suggesting that fertilization-induced membrane rearrangements contribute to the ability of the egg to assemble the male pronuclear envelope.     

Characterization of the membrane binding and fusion events during nuclear envelope assembly using purified components

At the end of mitosis membrane vesicles are targeted to the surface of chromatin and fuse to form a continuous nuclear envelope. To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying these steps in nuclear envelope assembly, we have developed a defined cell-free system in which the binding and fusion steps in nuclear envelope assembly can be examined separately. We have found that extensively boiled Xenopus egg extracts efficiently promote the decondensation of demembranated Xenopus sperm chromatin. When isolated membranes are added to this decondensed chromatin a specific subfraction of membrane vesicles (approximately 70 nM in diameter) bind to the chromatin, but these vesicles do not fuse to each other. Vesicle binding is independent of ATP and insensitive to N-ethylmalamide. Quantitative analysis of these sites by EM suggests that there is at least one vesicle binding site per 100 kb of chromosomal DNA. We show by tryptic digestion that vesicle-chromatin association requires proteins on both the vesicle and on the chromatin. In addition, we show that the vesicles bound under these conditions will fuse into an intact nuclear envelope when incubated with the soluble fraction of a Xenopus egg nuclear assembly extract. With respect to vesicle fusion, we have found that vesicles prebound to chromatin will fuse to each other when ATP and GTP are present in the boiled extract. These results indicate that nuclear envelope assembly is mediated by a subset of approximately 70-nM-diam vesicles which bind to chromatin sites spaced 100 kb apart and that fusion of these vesicles is regulated by membrane-associated GTP-binding proteins.     

Temporal control of nuclear envelope assembly by phosphorylation of lamin B receptor

The nuclear envelope of metazoans disassembles during mitosis and reforms in late anaphase after sister chromatids have well separated. The coordination of these mitotic events is important for genome stability, yet the temporal control of nuclear envelope reassembly is unknown. Although the steps of nuclear formation have been extensively studied in vitro using the reconstitution system from egg extracts, the temporal control can only be studied in vivo. Here, we use time-lapse microscopy to investigate this process in living HeLa cells. We demonstrate that Cdk1 activity prevents premature nuclear envelope assembly and that phosphorylation of the inner nuclear membrane protein lamin B receptor (LBR) by Cdk1 contributes to the temporal control. We further identify a region in the nucleoplasmic domain of LBR that inhibits premature chromatin binding of the protein. We propose that this inhibitory effect is partly mediated by Cdk1 phosphorylation. Furthermore, we show that the reduced chromatin-binding ability of LBR together with Aurora B activity contributes to nuclear envelope breakdown. Our studies reveal for the first time a mechanism that controls the timing of nuclear envelope reassembly through modification of an integral nuclear membrane protein.     

Histones H3/H4 form a tight complex with the inner nuclear membrane protein LBR and heterochromatin protein 1

We have recently shown that heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) interacts with the nuclear envelope in an acetylation-dependent manner. Using purified components and in vitro assays, we now demonstrate that HP1 forms a quaternary complex with the inner nuclear membrane protein LBR and a sub-set of core histones. This complex involves histone H3/H4 oligomers, which mediate binding of LBR to HP1 and cross-link these two proteins that do not interact directly with each other. Consistent with previous observations, HP1 and LBR binding to core histones is strongly inhibited when H3/H4 are modified by recombinant CREB-binding protein, revealing a new mechanism for anchoring domains of under-acetylated chromatin to the inner nuclear membrane.     

Induction of a Massive Endoplasmic Reticulum and Perinuclear Space Expansion by Expression of Lamin B Receptor Mutants and the Related Sterol Reductases TM7SF2 and DHCR7

Lamin B receptor (LBR) is an inner nuclear membrane protein involved in tethering the nuclear lamina and the underlying chromatin to the nuclear envelope. In addition, LBR exhibits sterol reductase activity. Mutations in the LBR gene cause two different human diseases: Pelger-Huët anomaly and Greenberg skeletal dysplasia, a severe chrondrodystrophy causing embryonic death. Our study aimed at investigating the effect of five LBR disease mutants on human cultured cells. Three of the tested LBR mutants caused a massive compaction of chromatin coincidental with the formation of a large nucleus-associated vacuole (NAV) in several human cultured cell lines. Live cell imaging and electron microscopy revealed that this structure was generated by the separation of the inner and outer nuclear membrane. During NAV formation, nuclear pore complexes and components of the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton complex were lost in areas of membrane separation. Concomitantly, a large number of smaller vacuoles formed throughout the cytoplasm. Notably, forced expression of the two structurally related sterol reductases transmembrane 7 superfamily member 2 and 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase caused, even in their wild-type form, a comparable phenotype in susceptible cell lines. Hence, LBR mutant variants and sterol reductases can severely interfere with the regular organization of the nuclear envelope and the endoplasmic reticulum.     

Temporal association of protamine 1 with the inner nuclear membrane protein lamin B receptor during spermiogenesis

During mammalian spermiogenesis, histones are replaced by transition proteins, which are in turn replaced by protamines P1 and P2. P1 protamine contains a short arginine/serine-rich (RS) domain that is highly phosphorylated before being deposited into sperm chromatin and almost completely dephosphorylated during sperm maturation. We now demonstrate that, in elongating spermatids, this phosphorylation is required for the temporal association of P1 protamine with lamin B receptor (LBR), an inner nuclear membrane protein that also possesses a stretch of RS dipeptides at its nucleoplasmic NH(2)-terminal domain. Previous studies have shown that the cellular protein p32 also binds tightly to the unmodified RS domain of LBR. Extending those findings, we now present evidence that p32 prevents phosphorylation of LBR and furthermore that dissociation of this protein precedes P1 protamine association. Our data suggest that docking of protamine 1 to the nuclear envelope is an important intermediate step in spermiogenesis and reveal a novel role for SR protein kinases and p32.     

A trypsin-sensitive receptor on membrane vesicles is required for nuclear envelope formation in vitro

The reformation of functioning organelles at the end of mitosis presents a problem in vesicle targeting. Using extracts made from Xenopus laevis frog eggs, we have studied in vitro the vesicles that reform the nuclear envelope. In the in vitro assay, nuclear envelope growth is linear with time. Furthermore, the final surface area of the nuclear envelopes formed is directly dependent upon the amount of membrane vesicles added to the assay. Egg membrane vesicles could be fractionated into two populations, only one of which was competent for nuclear envelope assembly. We found that vesicles active in nuclear envelope assembly contained markers (BiP and alpha-glucosidase II) characteristic of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), but that the majority of ER-derived vesicles do not contribute to nuclear envelope size. This functional distinction between nuclear vesicles and ER-derived vesicles implies that nuclear vesicles are unique and possess at least one factor required for envelope assembly that is lacking in other vesicles. Consistent with this, treatment of vesicles with trypsin destroyed their ability to form a nuclear envelope; electron microscopic studies indicate that the trypsin-sensitive proteins is required for vesicles to bind to chromatin. However, the protease-sensitive component(s) is resistant to treatments that disrupt protein-protein interactions, such as high salt, EDTA, or low ionic strength solutions. We propose that an integral membrane protein, or protein tightly associated with the membrane, is critical for nuclear vesicle targeting or function.     

Retention and mobility of the mammalian lamin B receptor in the plant nuclear envelope

Background information. In a previous study, we showed that GFP (green fluorescent protein) fused to the N‐terminal 238 amino acids of the mammalian LBR (lamin B receptor) localized to the NE (nuclear envelope) when expressed in the plant Nicotiana tabacum. The protein was located in the NE during interphase and migrated with nuclear membranes during cell division. Targeting and retention of inner NE proteins requires several mechanisms: signals that direct movement through the nuclear pore complex, presence of a transmembrane domain or domains and retention by interaction with nuclear or nuclear‐membrane constituents. Results. Binding mutants of LBR—GFP were produced to investigate the mechanisms for the retention of LBR in the NE. FRAP (fluorescence recovery after photobleaching) analysis of mutant and wild‐type constructs was employed to examine the retention of LBR—GFP in the plant NE. wtLBR—GFP (wild‐type LBR—GFP) was shown to have significantly lower mobility in the NE than the lamin‐binding domain deletion mutant, which showed increased mobility in the NE and was also localized to the endoplasmic reticulum and punctate structures in some cells. Modification of the chromatin‐binding domain resulted in the localization of the protein in nuclear inclusions, in which it was immobile. Conclusions. As expression of truncated LBR—GFP in plant cells results in altered targeting and retention compared with wtLBR—GFP, we conclude that plant cells can recognize the INE (inner NE)‐targeting motif of LBR. The altered mobility of the truncated protein suggests that not only do plant cells recognize this signal, but also have nuclear proteins that interact weakly with LBR.     

The amino-terminal domain of the lamin B receptor is a nuclear envelope targeting signal

The lamin B receptor (LBR) is a polytopic protein of the inner nuclear membrane. It is synthesized without a cleavable amino-terminal signal sequence and composed of a nucleoplasmic amino-terminal domain of 204 amino acids followed by a hydrophobic domain with eight putative transmembrane segments. To identify a nuclear envelope targeting signal, we have examined the cellular localization by immunofluorescence microscopy of chicken LBR, its amino-terminal domain and chimeric proteins transiently expressed in transfected COS-7. Full- length LBR was targeted to the nuclear envelope. The amino-terminal domain, without any transmembrane segments, was transported to the nucleus but excluded from the nucleolus. When the amino-terminal domain of LBR was fused to the amino-terminal side of a transmembrane segment of a type II integral membrane protein of the ER/plasma membrane, the chimeric protein was targeted to the nuclear envelope, likely the inner nuclear membrane. When the amino-terminal domain was deleted from LBR and replaced by alpha-globin, the chimeric protein was retained in the ER. These findings demonstrate that the amino-terminal domain of LBR is targeted to the nucleus after synthesis in the cytoplasm and that this polypeptide can function as a nuclear envelope targeting signal when located at the amino terminus of a type II integral membrane protein synthesized on the ER.     

The interaction of two classes of nuclear vesicles is induced by the dissociation of soluble proteins from one class of vesicles

The regulatory mechanism of fusion steps in nuclear envelope assembly was studied in vitro using cell-free extracts of Xenopus eggs. The nuclear envelope is formed only around the chromatin at the end of mitosis. Two kinds of vesicles are required for nuclear envelope assembly (J. Cell Biol. 112 (1991) 545). Light vesicles (LVs) have the chromatin-binding activity, but cannot fuse solely. On the other hand, heavy vesicles (HVs) neither bind to the chromatin nor LVs, but are needed for the fusion event. Therefore, the association of HVs with LVs that bind to the chromatin is required at a first step during the fusion of vesicles. We found that salt-treated HVs inhibited the binding of LVs to the chromatin. In addition, when salt-treated HVs were pretreated with the proteins in the residue of salt-treatment of HVs, LVs recovered the chromatin-binding activity. In contrast, salt-treatment of LVs did not influence the binding of LVs with chromatin. By using a fluorescence microscopy assay, we showed directly that salt-treated HVs associated with LVs or salt-treated LVs, but HVs did not. These results suggest that soluble mask proteins on HVs keep the two distinct vesicles separate. We propose that the dissociation of mask protein on HVs allows HVs to bind with LVs that are located on the chromatin, subsequently the fusion of each vesicle occurs and the nuclear envelope is formed.     

A role for nuclear lamins in nuclear envelope assembly.

The molecular interactions responsible for nuclear envelope assembly after mitosis are not well understood. In this study, we demonstrate that a peptide consisting of the COOH-terminal domain of Xenopus lamin B3 (LB3T) prevents nuclear envelope assembly in Xenopus interphase extracts. Specifically, LB3T inhibits chromatin decondensation and blocks the formation of both the nuclear lamina-pore complex and nuclear membranes. Under these conditions, some vesicles bind to the peripheral regions of the chromatin. These "nonfusogenic" vesicles lack lamin B3 (LB3) and do not bind LB3T; however, "fusogenic" vesicles containing LB3 can bind LB3T, which blocks their association with chromatin and, subsequently, nuclear membrane assembly. LB3T also binds to chromatin in the absence of interphase extract, but only in the presence of purified LB3. Additionally, we show that LB3T inhibits normal lamin polymerization in vitro. These findings suggest that lamin polymerization is required for both chromatin decondensation and the binding of nuclear membrane precursors during the early stages of normal nuclear envelope assembly.     

Nuclear envelope precursor vesicle targeting to chromatin is stimulated by protein phosphatase 1 in Xenopus egg extracts

The mechanism underlying targeting of the nuclear membrane to chromatin at the end of mitosis was studied using an in vitro cell-free system comprising Xenopus egg membrane and cytosol fractions, and sperm chromatin. The mitotic phase membrane, which was separated from a mitotic phase extract of Xenopus eggs and could not bind to chromatin, became able to bind to chromatin on pretreatment with a synthetic phase cytosol fraction of Xenopus eggs. When the cytosol fraction was depleted of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) with anti-Xenopus PP1γ1 antibodies, this ability was lost. The addition of recombinant xPP1γ1 to the PP1-depleted cytosol fraction restored the ability. These and other results suggested that dephosphorylation of mitotic phosphorylation sites on membranes by PP1 in the synthetic phase cytosol fraction promoted targeting of the membranes to chromatin. On the other hand, a fragment containing the chromatin-binding domain of lamin B receptor (LBR) but not emerin inhibited targeting of membrane vesicles. It was also shown that PP1 dephosphorylates a phosphate group(s) responsible for regulation of the binding of LBR to chromatin. A possible mechanism involving PP1 and LBR for the regulation of nuclear membrane targeting to chromatin was discussed.     

Spontaneous assembly of pore complex-containing membranes ("annulate lamellae") in Xenopus egg extract in the absence of chromatin.

Extract prepared from activated Xenopus eggs is capable of reconstituting nuclei from added DNA or chromatin. We have incubated such extract in the absence of DNA and found that numerous flattened membrane cisternae containing densely spaced pore complexes (annulate lamellae) formed de novo. By electron and immunofluorescence microscopy employing a pore complex-specific antibody we followed their appearance in the extract. Annulate lamellae were first detectable at a 30-min incubation in the form of short cisternae which already contained a high pore density. At 90-120 min they were abundantly present and formed large multilamellar stacks. The kinetics of annulate lamellae assembly were identical to that of nuclear envelope formation after addition of DNA to the extract. However, in the presence of DNA or chromatin, i.e., under conditions promoting the assembly of nuclear envelopes, annulate lamellae formation was considerably reduced and, at sufficiently high chromatin concentrations, completely inhibited. Incubation of the extract with antibodies to lamin LIII did not interfere with annulate lamellae assembly, whereas in the presence of DNA formation of nuclear envelopes around chromatin was inhibited. Our data show that nuclear membrane vesicles are able to fuse spontaneously into membrane cisternae and to assemble pore complexes independently of interactions with chromatin and a lamina. We propose that nuclear envelope precursor material will assemble into a nuclear envelope when chromatin is available for binding the membrane vesicles, and into annulate lamellae when chromatin is absent or its binding sites are saturated.     

New science — new ways to communicate it

Formation of the nuclear envelope (NE) around segregated chromosomes occurs by the reshaping of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a reservoir for disassembled nuclear membrane components during mitosis. In this study, we show that inner nuclear membrane proteins such as lamin B receptor (LBR), MAN1, Lap2β, and the trans-membrane nucleoporins Ndc1 and POM121 drive the spreading of ER membranes into the emerging NE via their capacity to bind chromatin in a collaborative manner. Despite their redundant functions, decreasing the levels of any of these trans-membrane proteins by RNAi-mediated knockdown delayed NE formation, whereas increasing the levels of any of them had the opposite effect. Furthermore, acceleration of NE formation interferes with chromosome separation during mitosis, indicating that the time frame over which chromatin becomes membrane enclosed is physiologically relevant and regulated. These data suggest that functionally distinct classes of chromatin-interacting membrane proteins, which are present at nonsaturating levels, collaborate to rapidly reestablish the nuclear compartment at the end of mitosis.