Mechanisms of nuclear actin in chromatin-remodeling complexes.
The mystery of nuclear actin has puzzled biologists for decades largely due to the lack of defined experimental systems. However, the development of actin-containing chromatin-modifying complexes as a defined genetic and biochemical system in the past decade has provided an unprecedented opportunity to dissect the mechanism of actin in the nucleus. Although the established functions of actin mostly rely on its dynamic polymerization, the novel finding of the mechanism of action of actin in the INO80 chromatin-remodeling complex suggests a conceptually distinct mode of actin that functions as a monomer. In this review we highlight the new paradigm and discuss how actin interaction with chromatin suggests a fundamental divergence between conventional cytoplasmic actin and nuclear actin. Furthermore, we provide how this framework could be applied to investigations of nuclear actin in other actin-containing chromatin-modifying complexes.
Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Science Park Research Division, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX 78957, USA.
Prabodh
P
Kapoor
Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Science Park Research Division, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX 78957, USA. Electronic address: snowshen@mac.com.
Xuetong
X
Shen
D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly / Q000502:physiology*; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological
D000199:Actins; D002843:Chromatin; D006657:Histones
INO80; NuA4; SWR1; chromatin remodeling; nuclear actin