Dynamic aspects of neuronal interphase nuclei: Visualization of subnuclear domains by phase contrast microscopy, confocal microscopy & ultrastructural cytochemistry

Abstract

Neuronal chromatin moves, in a saltatory and periodic manner, within the 3-dimensional (3-D) space of interphase nuclei in vitro. This is generally known as nuclear rotation (NR) which has been proposed to function, during differentiation, in the transposition of specific chromatin domains into a cytotypic chromosome pattern, a pattern which, in part, may also be related to the functional state of the cell. Exposure of neurons in vitro to nerve growth factor or to neurotransmitters results in altered gene expression, in altered rates of NR, as well as in a reorganization of chromosome patterns. Moreover, long term potentiation, induced in neurons in hippocampal slices, reduces the number of detectable satellite DNA signals, possibly by increased clustering.