QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online June 3, 2009
doi: 10.1242/10.1242/jcs.044743

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplementary Material Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Golden, A. Articles by Cohen-Fix, O. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Golden, A. Articles by Cohen-Fix, O. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Inactivation of the C. elegans lipin homolog leads to ER disorganization and to defects in the breakdown and reassembly of the nuclear envelope

¹ The Laboratory of Biochemistry and Genetics and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 8 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
³ The Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institutes of Health, 8 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
² Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: ornacf{at}helix.nih.gov)

Accepted 9 March 2009

The nuclear envelope (NE) is a dynamic structure, undergoing periods of growth, breakdown and reassembly during the cell cycle. In yeast, altering lipid synthesis by inactivating the yeast homolog of lipin, a phosphatidic acid phosphohydrolase, leads to disorganization of the peripheral ER and abnormal nuclear shape. These results suggest that lipid metabolism contributes to NE dynamics; however, since yeast undergo closed mitosis, the relevance of these observations to higher eukaryotes is unclear. In mammals, lipin has been implicated in adipose tissue differentiation, insulin resistance, lipid storage and obesity, but the underlying cellular defects caused by altering lipin levels are not known. Here, we identify the Caenorhabditis elegans lipin homolog (LPIN-1) and examine its affect on NE dynamics. We find that downregulating LPIN-1 by RNAi results in the appearance of membrane sheets and other abnormal structures in the peripheral ER. Moreover, lpin-1 RNAi causes defects in NE breakdown, abnormal chromosome segregation and irregular nuclear morphology. These results uncover cellular processes affected by lipin in metazoa, and suggest that lipid synthesis has a role in NE dynamics.

Key words: Peripheral ER, Lamin, Nuclear shape, Nuclear architecture, Lipid droplets, Diabetes, Insulin resistance, Majeed syndrome

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Gorjanacz and I. W. Mattaj Lipin is required for efficient breakdown of the nuclear envelope in Caenorhabditis elegans J. Cell Sci., June 15, 2009; 122(12): 1963 - 1969. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]