title: The function of lamins in the context of tissue building and maintenance.
abstract: Lamins are the major structural components of the nuclear lamina found in metazoan organisms. Extensive studies using tissue culture cells have shown that lamins are involved in a wide range of basic cell functions. This has led to the prevailing idea that a given animal cell needs at least one lamin protein for its basic proliferation and survival. However, recent studies have shown that lamins are dispensable for the proliferation and survival of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESC). In contrast to a lack of essential functions in ESCs, certain differentiated cells lacking B-type lamins exhibit increased cell cycle exit rates and enhanced senescence. In this Extra View, we discuss how studies using animal models and cell cultures have begun to reveal cell-type specific functions of lamins in tissue building and homeostasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution for Science and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Youngjo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McDole
authors.forename: Yixian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002470:Cell Survival; D004330:Drosophila / Q000378:metabolism; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D034904:Lamin Type A / Q000378:metabolism; D034921:Lamin Type B / Q000378:metabolism; D034882:Lamins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D028861:Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D034622:RNA Interference
chemical_list: D034904:Lamin Type A; D034921:Lamin Type B; D034882:Lamins; D028861:Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins