Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1990 Jan;87(1):147–151. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.1.147

Higher order nuclear organization: three-dimensional distribution of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles.

D L Spector 1
PMCID: PMC53217  PMID: 2136950

Abstract

The structural and functional organization of the cell nucleus has been investigated using three-dimensional reconstruction, immunoelectron microscopy, and high-resolution in situ autoradiography. Nuclear regions enriched in small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (snRNPs) form a reticular network within the nucleoplasm that extends between the nucleolar surface and the nuclear envelope. The snRNPs occupy approximately 18% of the volume of CHOC 400 cell nuclei. The in situ sites of DNA replication and transcription are complementary to, rather than coincident with, the nuclear regions concentrated in snRNPs. Based on these data a three-dimensional model of the organization of the mammalian cell nucleus is presented.

Full text

PDF
147

Images in this article

148Image
on p.148
149Image
on p.149
149Image
on p.149
150Image
on p.150
151Image
on p.151

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Agard D. A., Sedat J. W. Three-dimensional architecture of a polytene nucleus. Nature. 1983 Apr 21;302(5910):676–681. doi: 10.1038/302676a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BYERS B., PORTER K. R. ORIENTED MICROTUBULES IN ELONGATING CELLS OF THE DEVELOPING LENS RUDIMENT AFTER INDUCTION. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1964 Oct;52:1091–1099. doi: 10.1073/pnas.52.4.1091. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Beyer A. L., Miller O. L., Jr, McKnight S. L. Ribonucleoprotein structure in nascent hnRNA is nonrandom and sequence-dependent. Cell. 1980 May;20(1):75–84. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(80)90236-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Beyer A. L., Osheim Y. N. Splice site selection, rate of splicing, and alternative splicing on nascent transcripts. Genes Dev. 1988 Jun;2(6):754–765. doi: 10.1101/gad.2.6.754. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Blobel G. Gene gating: a hypothesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1985 Dec;82(24):8527–8529. doi: 10.1073/pnas.82.24.8527. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fakan S., Puvion E., Sphor G. Localization and characterization of newly synthesized nuclear RNA in isolate rat hepatocytes. Exp Cell Res. 1976 Apr;99(1):155–164. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(76)90690-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Foe V. E., Alberts B. M. Reversible chromosome condensation induced in Drosophila embryos by anoxia: visualization of interphase nuclear organization. J Cell Biol. 1985 May;100(5):1623–1636. doi: 10.1083/jcb.100.5.1623. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Foe V. E., Alberts B. M. Studies of nuclear and cytoplasmic behaviour during the five mitotic cycles that precede gastrulation in Drosophila embryogenesis. J Cell Sci. 1983 May;61:31–70. doi: 10.1242/jcs.61.1.31. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hochstrasser M., Sedat J. W. Three-dimensional organization of Drosophila melanogaster interphase nuclei. I. Tissue-specific aspects of polytene nuclear architecture. J Cell Biol. 1987 Jun;104(6):1455–1470. doi: 10.1083/jcb.104.6.1455. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lawrence J. B., Singer R. H. Intracellular localization of messenger RNAs for cytoskeletal proteins. Cell. 1986 May 9;45(3):407–415. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90326-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lawrence J. B., Singer R. H., Marselle L. M. Highly localized tracks of specific transcripts within interphase nuclei visualized by in situ hybridization. Cell. 1989 May 5;57(3):493–502. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90924-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Lerner E. A., Lerner M. R., Janeway C. A., Jr, Steitz J. A. Monoclonal antibodies to nucleic acid-containing cellular constituents: probes for molecular biology and autoimmune disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 May;78(5):2737–2741. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.5.2737. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Macgregor H. C., Stebbings H. A massive system of microtubules associated with cytoplasmic movement in telotrophic ovarioles. J Cell Sci. 1970 Mar;6(2):431–449. doi: 10.1242/jcs.6.2.431. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Manuelidis L., Borden J. Reproducible compartmentalization of individual chromosome domains in human CNS cells revealed by in situ hybridization and three-dimensional reconstruction. Chromosoma. 1988;96(6):397–410. doi: 10.1007/BF00303033. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Mathog D., Hochstrasser M., Gruenbaum Y., Saumweber H., Sedat J. Characteristic folding pattern of polytene chromosomes in Drosophila salivary gland nuclei. 1984 Mar 29-Apr 4Nature. 308(5958):414–421. doi: 10.1038/308414a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Mollenhauer H. H. Distribution of microtubules in the golgi apparatus of Euglena gracilis. J Cell Sci. 1974 Jun;15(1):89–97. doi: 10.1242/jcs.15.1.89. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Reuter R., Appel B., Bringmann P., Rinke J., Lührmann R. 5'-Terminal caps of snRNAs are reactive with antibodies specific for 2,2,7-trimethylguanosine in whole cells and nuclear matrices. Double-label immunofluorescent studies with anti-m3G antibodies and with anti-RNP and anti-Sm autoantibodies. Exp Cell Res. 1984 Oct;154(2):548–560. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(84)90179-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rykowski M. C., Parmelee S. J., Agard D. A., Sedat J. W. Precise determination of the molecular limits of a polytene chromosome band: regulatory sequences for the Notch gene are in the interband. Cell. 1988 Aug 12;54(4):461–472. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90067-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. SALPETER M. M., BACHMANN L. AUTORADIOGRAPHY WITH THE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE. A PROCEDURE FOR IMPROVING RESOLUTION, SENSITIVITY, AND CONTRAST. J Cell Biol. 1964 Aug;22:469–477. doi: 10.1083/jcb.22.2.469. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Smith H. C., Ochs R. L., Fernandez E. A., Spector D. L. Macromolecular domains containing nuclear protein p107 and U-snRNP protein p28: further evidence for an in situ nuclear matrix. Mol Cell Biochem. 1986 May;70(2):151–168. doi: 10.1007/BF00229430. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Spector D. L. Colocalization of U1 and U2 small nuclear RNPs by immunocytochemistry. Biol Cell. 1984;51(1):109–112. doi: 10.1111/j.1768-322x.1984.tb00289.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Spector D. L., Schrier W. H., Busch H. Immunoelectron microscopic localization of snRNPs. Biol Cell. 1983;49(1):1–10. doi: 10.1111/j.1768-322x.1984.tb00215.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Spector D. L., Smith H. C. Redistribution of U-snRNPs during mitosis. Exp Cell Res. 1986 Mar;163(1):87–94. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(86)90560-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Spector D. L., Watt R. A., Sullivan N. F. The v- and c-myc oncogene proteins colocalize in situ with small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles. Oncogene. 1987 Mar;1(1):5–12. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Vasiliev J. M. Actin cortex and microtubular system in morphogenesis: cooperation and competition. J Cell Sci Suppl. 1987;8:1–18. doi: 10.1242/jcs.1987.supplement_8.1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Zieve G., Penman S. Small RNA species of the HeLa cell: metabolism and subcellular localization. Cell. 1976 May;8(1):19–31. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(76)90181-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES