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Review
. 2020 Dec 15;147(23):dev183442.
doi: 10.1242/dev.183442.

Nuclear pore complexes in development and tissue homeostasis

Valeria Guglielmi  1   2 , Stephen Sakuma, Maximiliano A D'Angelo  3   2
Affiliations
Review

Nuclear pore complexes in development and tissue homeostasis

Valeria Guglielmi et al. Development. .

Abstract

Nuclear pore complexes are multiprotein channels that span the nuclear envelope, which connects the nucleus to the cytoplasm. In addition to their main role in the regulation of nucleocytoplasmic molecule exchange, it has become evident that nuclear pore complexes and their components also have multiple transport-independent functions. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have reported the involvement of nuclear pore complex components in embryogenesis, cell differentiation and tissue-specific processes. Here, we review the findings that highlight the dynamic nature of nuclear pore complexes and their roles in many cell type-specific functions during development and tissue homeostasis.

Keywords: Differentiation; Embryogenesis; Nuclear pore complex; Nucleocytoplasmic transport; Tissue homeostasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing or financial interests.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Structural organization of the nuclear pore complex. Schematic representation of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) structure and composition in human. A cross-section of a NPC perpendicular to the nuclear envelope is shown. The NPC is embedded into the nuclear envelope and made of nucleoporins (Nups). Nups are grouped and color-coded to indicate that they are part of the same subcomplex or associate with it.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Nuclear pore complex assembly in the mammalian cell cycle. When mammalian cells enter mitosis (M phase), nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are disassembled into subcomplexes during nuclear envelope (NE) breakdown. These subcomplexes are recycled at the end of mitosis to assemble new NPCs in the reforming nuclear envelope around the genomes of the daughter cells (mitotic NPC assembly). From G1 phase to G2 phase, daughter cells double their number of NPCs in preparation for the next round of cell division (interphase NPC assembly).
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Cellular functions of the nuclear pore complex. The nuclear pore complex and its multiple cellular functions: nucleocytoplasmic transport, regulation of gene expression and 3D genome architecture (Buchwalter et al., 2019; Raices and D'Angelo, 2017; Strambio-De-Castillia et al., 2010), chromatin organization (Kuhn and Capelson, 2019), DNA repair (Freudenreich and Su, 2016; Géli and Lisby, 2015), mRNA surveillance (Géli and Lisby, 2015), post-translational protein modifications (Texari and Stutz, 2015), cytoskeletal organization (Joseph and Dasso, 2008; Joseph et al., 2004), and cell cycle regulation (Chatel and Fahrenkrog, 2011; Imamoto and Funakoshi, 2012).
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Nucleoporins with tissue-specific functions. Summary of nucleoporins involved in embryogenesis, gametogenesis, tissue development and homeostasis. Nucleoporins from different substructures of the NPC are color-coded as in Fig. 1. See Table 1 for more details.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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