title: Nuclear matrix and structural and functional compartmentalization of the eucaryotic cell nucleus.
abstract: Becoming popular at the end of the 20th century, the concept of the nuclear matrix implies the existence of a nuclear skeleton that organizes functional elements in the cell nucleus. This review presents a critical analysis of the results obtained in the study of nuclear matrix in the light of current views on the organization of the cell nucleus. Numerous studies of nuclear matrix have failed to provide evidence of the existence of such a structure. Moreover, the existence of a filamentous structure that supports the nuclear compartmentalization appears to be unnecessary, since this function is performed by the folded genome itself.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119334, Russia. sergey.v.razin@usa.net.
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Razin
authors.forename: V V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Borunova
authors.forename: O V
authors.initials: OV
authors.lastname: Iarovaia
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Vassetzky
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002843:Chromatin / Q000502:physiology*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007399:Interphase
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin