Unweaving the role of nuclear Lamins in neural circuit integrity

Lamins are type-V intermediate filament proteins that comprise the nuclear lamina. Although once considered static structural components that provide physical support to the inner nuclear envelope, recent studies are revealing additional functional and regulatory roles for Lamins in chromatin organization, gene regulation, DNA repair, cell division and signal transduction. In this issue of Cell Stress, Oyston et al. (2018) reports the function of Lamin in the maintenance of nervous system integrity and neural circuit function using Drosophila. A number of laminopathies in humans exhibit age-dependent neurological phenotypes, but understanding how defects in specific neural cell types or circuitries contribute to patient phenotypes is very challenging. Drosophila provides a simple yet sophisticated system to begin untangling the vulnerability of diverse neuronal cell types and circuits against cellular stressors induced by defects in nuclear lamina organization.