Nuclear lamin isoforms assemble into fibrous meshworks within the nuclear lamina 16 (NL) where they are associated with nuclear pore complexes (NPCs). Although the lamins and 17NPCs are major components of the nuclear envelope (NE), little is known about their structural 18 relationships. We used 3D structured illumination microscopy (3D-SIM) and sub-pixel image 19 analysis to show that NPCs are closely associated with lamin fibers in mouse embryonic 20 fibroblasts (MEFs). When lamin A/C (LA/C) or lamin B1 (LB1) are removed by gene knockout, the 21 NPCs retained their association and redistributed with the resulting enlarged lamin meshworks. 22 Cryo-ET revealed that more LA/C than LB1 fibers contacted the nucleoplasmic ring of NPCs. 23 Knockdown of the outer ring nucleoporin ELYS induced NPC clusters that excluded LA/C fibers. 24 Knockdown of the basket nucleoporin TPR reduced the size of LA/C, LB1, and LB2 meshworks 25 while retaining their close association with NPCs. NUP153 knockdown reduced LA/C and B2 26 meshwork size in wild type (WT) MEFs and caused NPC clustering in nuclei lacking LB1. Therefore, 27 lamins and nucleoporins act together to maintain the organization and distribution of lamin 28 meshworks and NPCs. 29 30 teins, the nuclear lamins, and nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) (Aebi et al., 1986; Fisher et al., 1986; 33 Goldman et al., 1986; McKeon et al., 1986). The four lamin isoforms LA, LC, LB1, and LB2 are mainly 34 associated with the inner nuclear membrane where they assemble into discrete meshworks of 35 fibers composing the nuclear lamina (NL). The NPCs penetrate the NE forming transport passage-36 ways delineated by the fusion of the inner and outer nuclear membranes, thereby allowing for 37 bidirectional transport across the NE. They are composed of multiple copies of 30 proteins known 38 1 of 27Manuscript to be submitted to eLife as nucleoporins (Beck and Hurt, 2016). Both the nuclear lamins and NPC structures are closely 39 associated with chromatin at the nuclear periphery (Guelen et al., 2008; Peric-Hupkes et al., 2010; 40 Ibarra and Hetzer, 2015). 41 The lamins are classified as A-type (LA, LC) and B-type (LB1, LB2). LA and LC are derived from 42 the Lmna gene by alternative splicing (Lin and Worman, 1993), whereas LB1 and LB2 are encoded 43 81 ity of the four lamin fiber meshworks and NPCs located within a thin layer at the nuclear surface.
82The results of our analyses demonstrate that NPCs are closely associated with lamin fibers. At 83 higher resolution cryo-ET confirms that both LA/C and LB1 filaments interact closely with the NPCs 84 at the nucleoplasmic ring. Targeted disruption of nucleoporins and lamin isoforms demonstrates 85 the interdependence of the spatial distributions of lamin fibers and NPCs. 86 2 of 27 Manuscript to be submitted to eLife WT WT Lmnb1 -/-Lmna -/-LA LB1 LB1 LA LB2 LC NPC NPC NPC NPC NPC NPC A B Figure 1. Co-Distribution of Lamin Fibers and NPCs. Colabeling of lamins and nuclear pore complexes in wt and lamin KO MEF nuclei using indire...