Current techniques for three-dimensional (3D) optical microscopy (deconvolution, confocal microscopy, and optical coherence tomography) generate 3D data by "optically sectioning" the specimen. This places severe constraints on the maximum thickness of a specimen that can be imaged. We have developed a microscopy technique that uses optical projection tomography (OPT) to produce high-resolution 3D images of both fluorescent and nonfluorescent biological specimens with a thickness of up to 15 millimeters. OPT microscopy allows the rapid mapping of the tissue distribution of RNA and protein expression in intact embryos or organ systems and can therefore be instrumental in studies of developmental biology or gene function.
Using fluorescence in situ hybridization we show striking differences in nuclear position, chromosome morphology, and interactions with nuclear substructure for human chromosomes 18 and 19. Human chromosome 19 is shown to adopt a more internal position in the nucleus than chromosome 18 and to be more extensively associated with the nuclear matrix. The more peripheral localization of chromosome 18 is established early in the cell cycle and is maintained thereafter. We show that the preferential localization of chromosomes 18 and 19 in the nucleus is reflected in the orientation of translocation chromosomes in the nucleus. Lastly, we show that the inhibition of transcription can have gross, but reversible, effects on chromosome architecture. Our data demonstrate that the distribution of genomic sequences between chromosomes has implications for nuclear structure and we discuss our findings in relation to a model of the human nucleus that is functionally compartmentalized.
The spatial organisation of the genome in the nucleus has a role in the regulation of gene expression. In vertebrates, chromosomal regions with low gene-density are located close to the nuclear periphery. Correlations have also been made between the transcriptional state of some genes and their location near the nuclear periphery. However, a crucial issue is whether this level of nuclear organisation directly affects gene function, rather than merely reflecting it. To directly investigate whether proximity to the nuclear periphery can influence gene expression in mammalian cells, here we relocate specific human chromosomes to the nuclear periphery by tethering them to a protein of the inner nuclear membrane. We show that this can reversibly suppress the expression of some endogenous human genes located near the tethering sites, and even genes further away. However, the expression of many other genes is not detectably reduced and we show that location at the nuclear periphery is not incompatible with active transcription. The dampening of gene expression around the nuclear periphery is dependent on the activity of histone deacetylases. Our data show that the radial position within the nucleus can influence the expression of some, but not all, genes. This is compatible with the suggestion that re-localisation of genes relative to the peripheral zone of the nucleus could be used by metazoans to modulate the expression of selected genes during development and differentiation.
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