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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

In vivo Application of the REMOTE-control System for the Manipulation of Endogenous Gene Expression
Published on: March 29, 2019
Actin-dependent intranuclear repositioning of an active gene locus in vivo
Miroslav Dundr1, Jason K Ospina, Myong-Hee Sung
1Department of Cell Biology, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA. mirek.dundr@rosalindfranklin.edu
Abstract:
Although bulk chromatin is thought to have limited mobility within the interphase eukaryotic nucleus, directed long-distance chromosome movements are not unknown. Cajal bodies (CBs) are nuclear suborganelles that nonrandomly associate with small nuclear RNA (snRNA) and histone gene loci in human cells during interphase. However, the mechanism responsible for this association is uncertain. In this study, we present an experimental system to probe the dynamic interplay of CBs with a U2 snRNA target gene locus during transcriptional activation in living cells. Simultaneous four-dimensional tracking of CBs and U2 genes reveals that target loci are recruited toward relatively stably positioned CBs by long-range chromosomal motion. In the presence of a dominant-negative mutant of beta-actin, the repositioning of activated U2 genes is markedly inhibited. This supports a model in which nuclear actin is required for these rapid, long-range chromosomal movements.
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