The nuclear envelope environment and its cancer connections

Abstract

Nuclear morphology is often altered in cancer. Irregularity in nuclear contours is a feature used by pathologists in diagnostic cytology. The nuclear envelope provides a specialized microenvironment within the nucleus. It is also the site where a series of protein–protein interactions take place to connect the cytoskeleton to the interior of the nucleus. Constituents of the nuclear envelope — lamins, nuclear pore complexes and lipid membranes — have key roles in several processes that affect tumour cell biology and response to therapy. Changes in the abundance or the function of components of the nuclear envelope in tumour cells can cause the occurrence of dysmorphic nuclei and can deregulate cell migration, intracellular signalling, DNA repair, cell division and gene expression. Tracking the abundance of molecular components of the nuclear envelope environment and enhanced methods to visualize changes at the nuclear envelope could potentially be used for the prognostic assessment of cancer patients.