Chromosomes Orchestrate Their Own Liberation: Nuclear Envelope Disassembly
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Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Detection of Nuclear Blebbing and DNA Leakage in Mammalian Cells by Immunofluorescence
Published on: January 17, 2025
Alfonso Fernández-Álvarez1, Julia Promisel Cooper1
1Telomere Biology Section, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Abstract:
The mammalian nuclear division cycle is coordinated with nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD), in which the entire nuclear envelope (NE) is dissolved to allow chromosomes to access their segregation vehicle, the spindle. In other eukaryotes, complete NEBD is replaced by localized disassembly or remodeling of the NE. Although the molecular mechanisms controlling NE disassembly are incompletely understood, coordinated cycles of modification of specific NE components drive breakdown. Here, we review the current state of knowledge regarding NE disassembly and argue for a role of chromosome-NE contacts in triggering initiation of NE disassembly and thereby, cell division.
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