RNA metabolism in nuclei: adenovirus and heat shock alter intranuclear RNA compartmentalization

Nuclear RNA compartmentalization has received little attention as an area where regulation of gene expression could occur. RNA transcription and processing occur in association with the nuclear matrix, a salt-insoluble proteinaceous network that fills the nuclear space and is contiguous with the peripheral lamina and pore complexes. Described here are experiments that determine the fate of nuclear RNA after it has completed these matrix-associated maturation steps. Continuous label experiments indicate that after nuclear RNA is processed it changes its state of attachment in the nucleus so that it is now removed from the nucleus in the high salt extraction step of matrix isolation. It is this salt-extractable RNA that will be transported to the cytoplasm. Late in adenovirus infection and following heat shock, when transport of cellular RNA is decreased, cellular transcripts do not make the transition from the matrix-associated to the salt-extractable nuclear pool. The implication of these data for the regulation of gene expression is discussed.