title: The nuclear barrier is structurally and functionally highly responsive to glucocorticoids.
abstract: Nuclear pore complexes mediate and control transport between the cytosol and the nucleus. They form a highly selective and, thus, tight nuclear barrier between these compartments. The nuclear barrier provides the cell with the opportunity to control access to its DNA, a defining feature of eukaryotes. The tightness of the nuclear barrier is therefore physiologically pivotal and any remarkable change in its structure and permeability can prove pathophysiological, e.g. as a result of viral attack. However, there is accumulating evidence that nuclear barrier structure and permeability are highly responsive to hydrophobic cargos of crucial physiological and therapeutic relevance, glucocorticoids (steroid hormones). The present review highlights the glucocorticoid-induced effects on the nuclear barrier structure and permeability concluding that they are physiologically essential to mediate glucocorticoid action.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, UK. vs297@cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shahin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D022022:Nuclear Pore / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure / Q000821:virology; D014780:Viruses / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids