In:
eLife, eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, Vol. 3 ( 2014-06-12)
Abstract:
Transcription factors are proteins that control the expression of genes in the nucleus, and they do this by binding to other proteins or DNA. First, however, these regulatory proteins need to overcome the challenge of finding their targets in the nucleus, which is crowded with other proteins and DNA. Much research to date has focused on measuring how fast proteins can diffuse and spread out throughout the nucleus. However these measurements only make sense if these proteins have access to the same space within the nucleus. Now, Izeddin, Récamier et al. have developed a new technique to track single protein molecules in the nucleus of mammalian cells. A transcription factor called c-Myc and another protein called P-TEFb were tracked and while they diffused at similar rates, they ‘explored’ the space inside the nucleus in very different ways. Izeddin, Récamier et al. found that c-Myc explores the nucleus in a so-called ‘non-compact’ manner: this means that it can move almost everywhere inside the nucleus, and has an equal chance of reaching any target regardless of its position in this space. P-TEFb, on the other hand, searches the nucleus in a ‘compact’ way. This means that it is constrained to follow a specific path through the nucleus and is therefore guided to its potential targets. Izeddin, Récamier et al. explain that the different ‘search strategies’ used by these two proteins influence how long it takes them to find their targets and how far they can travel in a given time. These findings, together with information about where and when different proteins interact in the nucleus, will be essential to understand how the organization of the genome within the nucleus can control the expression of genes. The next challenge will now be to uncover what determines a protein's search strategy in the nucleus, as well as the potential ways that this strategy might be regulated.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2050-084X
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.001
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.002
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.003
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.004
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.005
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.006
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.007
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.008
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.009
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.010
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.011
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.012
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.013
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.014
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.015
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.016
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.017
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.018
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.019
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.020
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.021
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.022
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.023
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.024
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.025
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.026
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.027
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.02230.028
Language:
English
Publisher:
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Publication Date:
2014
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2687154-3
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