title: Recent advances in understanding nuclear size and shape.
abstract: Size and shape are important aspects of nuclear structure. While normal cells maintain nuclear size within a defined range, altered nuclear size and shape are associated with a variety of diseases. It is unknown if altered nuclear morphology contributes to pathology, and answering this question requires a better understanding of the mechanisms that control nuclear size and shape. In this review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate nuclear morphology, focusing on nucleocytoplasmic transport, nuclear lamins, the endoplasmic reticulum, the cell cycle, and potential links between nuclear size and size regulation of other organelles. We then discuss the functional significance of nuclear morphology in the context of early embryonic development. Looking toward the future, we review new experimental approaches that promise to provide new insights into mechanisms of nuclear size control, in particular microfluidic-based technologies, and discuss how altered nuclear morphology might impact chromatin organization and physiology of diseased cells.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Molecular Biology , University of Wyoming , Laramie , WY USA.
authors.forename: Richik N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.affiliation: a Department of Molecular Biology , University of Wyoming , Laramie , WY USA.
authors.forename: Pan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: a Department of Molecular Biology , University of Wyoming , Laramie , WY USA.
authors.forename: Daniel L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Levy
mesh_terms: D021581:Active Transport, Cell Nucleus; D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D053144:Cell Nucleus Shape; D053145:Cell Nucleus Size; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin
keywords: Cancer; cell size; chromatin; developmental scaling; endoplasmic reticulum; microfluidics; nuclear lamina; nuclear shape regulation; nuclear size regulation; nucleocytoplasmic transport; organelle size