Temporal and tissue-specific disruption of LINC complexes in vivo

Migration and anchorage of nuclei within developing and adult tissues rely on Linkers of the Nucleoskeleton to the Cytoskeleton (LINC complexes). These macromolecular assemblies span the nuclear envelope and physically couple chromatin and nuclear lamina to cytoplasmic cytoskeletal networks. LINC complexes assemble within the perinuclear space through direct interactions between the respective evolutionary-conserved SUN and KASH domains of Sun proteins, which reside within the inner nuclear membrane, and Nesprins, which reside within the outer nuclear membrane. Here, we describe and validate a dominant-negative transgenic strategy allowing for the disruption of endogenous SUN/KASH interactions through the inducible expression of a recombinant KASH domain. Our approach, which is based on the Cre/Lox system, allows for the targeted disruption of LINC complexes in a wide array of mouse tissues or specific cell types thereof and bypasses the perinatal lethality and potential cell nonautonomous effects of current mouse models based on germline inactivation of genes encoding Sun proteins and Nesprins. For these reasons, this mouse model provides a useful tool to evaluate the physiological relevance of LINC complexes integrity during development and homeostasis in a wide array of mammalian tissues.