Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May 21;3(2):100135.
doi: 10.1016/j.mbm.2025.100135. eCollection 2025 Jun.

Mechanosensitive nuclear checkpoint: nuclear envelope as a sensor of chromosomal instability and driver of cell fate

Chenyang Ji  1 , Junwei Chen  1 , Fuxiang Wei  1
Affiliations

Mechanosensitive nuclear checkpoint: nuclear envelope as a sensor of chromosomal instability and driver of cell fate

Chenyang Ji et al. Mechanobiol Med. .

Abstract

The nuclear envelope (NE) is a dynamic, mechanosensitive structure that functions as a protective barrier for the genome and serves as a checkpoint responding to external stimuli. It plays a critical role in maintaining genomic stability and regulating cell fate. This review synthesizes recent research highlighting the role of NE as a mechanical checkpoint in ensuring accurate chromosome segregation, regulating cell cycle progression, and contributing to cancer development. Chromosome mis-segregation during cell division is a major driver of aneuploidy, a condition closely associated with genomic instability and cellular transformation. The role of NE in chromatin organization and gene expression regulation is also discussed, underscoring its importance in cell differentiation and identity.

Keywords: Cell cycle; Chromatin; Gene expression; Mechanosensitive checkpoint; Nuclear envelope.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic of the nuclear envelope determines cell fate. Chromosome mis-segregation leads to nuclear envelope dysfunction and tension decrease, which quickly activates the p53/p21 pathway, probably induces cellular transformation and cancer progression. Nuclear envelop works as a mechanosensitive checkpoint during this progress.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hervé S., Scelfo A., Bersano Marchisio G., et al. Chromosome mis-segregation triggers cell cycle arrest through a mechanosensitive nuclear envelope checkpoint. Nat Cell Biol. 2025;27(1):73–86. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ungricht R., Kutay U. Mechanisms and functions of nuclear envelope remodelling. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2017;18(4):229–245. - PubMed
    1. Fernández-Jiménez N., Pradillo M. The role of the nuclear envelope in the regulation of chromatin dynamics during cell division. J Exp Bot. 2020;71(17):5148–5159. - PubMed
    1. Pal M., Schauer T., Burton A., et al. The establishment of nuclear organization in mouse embryos is orchestrated by multiple epigenetic pathways. Cell. 2025 doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.03.044. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chow K.H., Factor R.E., Ullman K.S. The nuclear envelope environment and its cancer connections. Nat Rev Cancer. 2012;12(3):196–209. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources