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Updated: May 16, 2026

Validation of a Mouse Model to Disrupt LINC Complexes in a Cell-specific Manner
Published on: December 10, 2015
Connecting the nucleus to the cytoskeleton by SUN-KASH bridges across the nuclear envelope
Erin C Tapley1, Daniel A Starr
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, United States.
Abstract:
The nuclear-cytoskeleton connection influences many aspects of cellular architecture, including nuclear positioning, the stiffness of the global cytoskeleton, and mechanotransduction. Central to all of these processes is the assembly and function of conserved SUN-KASH bridges, or LINC complexes, that span the nuclear envelope. Recent studies provide details of the higher order assembly and targeting of SUN proteins to the inner nuclear membrane. Structural studies characterize SUN-KASH interactions that form the central link of the nuclear-envelope bridge. KASH proteins at the outer nuclear membrane link the nuclear envelope to the cytoskeleton where forces are generated to move nuclei. Significantly, SUN proteins were recently shown to contribute to the progression of laminopathies.
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