About this Research Topic
The nucleus is the defining organelle of eukaryotic cells and is primarily known as the repository of the cell’s genome. Yet, the nucleus is much more than this. It is the biggest and stiffest organelle, whose shape, position, mechanics and movements are instrumental in many cell and tissue functions. Many of these additional functions are mediated by the double membrane nuclear envelope and its underlying nucleoskeleton, the lamina. The nuclear envelope also bears nuclear pores and specialized protein complexes that connect it to the cytoskeleton and allow chemical and mechanical communication to and from the cytoplasm. Over recent years, how these features have endowed the nucleus the ability to sense the extracellular environment and to control not only intranuclear but also cytoplasmic processes has increasingly become clearer.
The ambition of this issue is to illustrate how the nucleus may act as a sensor of extracellular cues and actuator of cell fate and behavior. We expect that highlighting the intricate mechanisms that underlie these functions will stimulate novel research avenues to reveal the multiple implications of this central structure in cell homeostasis and disease.
We invite submission of Original Research manuscripts and Brief Research Reports, as well as Reviews, Mini Reviews, Perspectives, Hypothesis and Theory articles, that address outstanding questions regarding the direct and indirect roles of the nucleus and its components in sensing extracellular signals and controlling cell fate and behavior.
Suggested themes include but are not limited to:
- Roles of nucleus shape, mechanics, positioning, movement and integrity in cell polarity, migration, differentiation, proliferation, stress response, disease and senescence.
- Signal transduction and mechanotransduction to and from the nucleus through nuclear pores, LINC complexes or other nuclear envelope proteins.
- Roles of nuclear envelope proteins, nucleoskeleton (lamins) and cytoskeletons (actin, motors, etc) in the regulation of nuclear architecture and functions (chromatin organization, dynamics, accessibility, DNA transcription, replication) and in the cytoplasm (cell contractility, metabolism, etc)
- Novel methods to assess nuclear form and function.
The ambition of this issue is to illustrate how the nucleus may act as a sensor of extracellular cues and actuator of cell fate and behavior. We expect that highlighting the intricate mechanisms that underlie these functions will stimulate novel research avenues to reveal the multiple implications of this central structure in cell homeostasis and disease.
We invite submission of Original Research manuscripts and Brief Research Reports, as well as Reviews, Mini Reviews, Perspectives, Hypothesis and Theory articles, that address outstanding questions regarding the direct and indirect roles of the nucleus and its components in sensing extracellular signals and controlling cell fate and behavior.
Suggested themes include but are not limited to:
- Roles of nucleus shape, mechanics, positioning, movement and integrity in cell polarity, migration, differentiation, proliferation, stress response, disease and senescence.
- Signal transduction and mechanotransduction to and from the nucleus through nuclear pores, LINC complexes or other nuclear envelope proteins.
- Roles of nuclear envelope proteins, nucleoskeleton (lamins) and cytoskeletons (actin, motors, etc) in the regulation of nuclear architecture and functions (chromatin organization, dynamics, accessibility, DNA transcription, replication) and in the cytoplasm (cell contractility, metabolism, etc)
- Novel methods to assess nuclear form and function.
Keywords: nucleus, nuclear envelope, intracellular signaling, mechanotransduction, chromatin, nuclear pores, LINC complexes, lamins
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
