title: Go in! Go out! Inducible control of nuclear localization.
abstract: Cells have evolved a variety of mechanisms to regulate the enormous complexity of processes taking place inside them. One mechanism consists in tightly controlling the localization of macromolecules, keeping them away from their place of action until needed. Since a large fraction of the cellular response to external stimuli is mediated by gene expression, it is not surprising that transcriptional regulators are often subject to stimulus-induced nuclear import or export. Here we review recent methods in chemical biology and optogenetics for controlling the nuclear localization of proteins of interest inside living cells. These methods allow researchers to regulate protein activity with exquisite spatiotemporal control, and open up new possibilities for studying the roles of proteins in a broad array of cellular processes and biological functions.
authors.affiliation: Center for Quantitative Analysis of Molecular and Cellular Biosystems (BioQuant), University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: barbara.diventura@bioquant.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Di Ventura
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Electronic address: bkuhlman@unc.edu.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kuhlman
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008027:Light; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins