title: Nuclear architecture and chromatin dynamics revealed by atomic force microscopy in combination with biochemistry and cell biology.
abstract: The recent technical development of atomic force microscopy (AFM) has made nano-biology of the nucleus an attractive and promising field. In this paper, we will review our current understanding of nuclear architecture and dynamics from the structural point of view. Especially, special emphases will be given to: (1) How to approach the nuclear architectures by means of new techniques using AFM, (2) the importance of the physical property of DNA in the construction of the higher-order structures, (3) the significance and implication of the linker and core histones and the nuclear matrix/scaffold proteins for the chromatin dynamics, (4) the nuclear proteins that contribute to the formation of the inner nuclear architecture. Spatio-temporal analyses using AFM, in combination with biochemical and cell biological approaches, will play important roles in the nano-biology of the nucleus, as most of nuclear structures and events occur in nanometer, piconewton and millisecond order. The new applications of AFM, such as recognition imaging, fast-scanning imaging, and a variety of modified cantilevers, are expected to be powerful techniques to reveal the nanostructure of the nucleus.
authors.affiliation: Kyoto University Graduate School of Biostudies, Yoshida-Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Hirohide
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kumeta
authors.forename: Kohji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hizume
authors.forename: Yuya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirai
authors.forename: Shotaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.forename: Shige H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takeyasu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001669:Biochemical Phenomena; D001671:Biochemistry; D003585:Cell Biology; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002843:Chromatin / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D009685:Nuclear Envelope / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D009707:Nucleosomes