Overexpressed Spindlin1 relocalizes to the nucleoli during fixation

The histone reader protein Spindlin1 has emerged as a pivotal player in tumorigenesis. Consequently, it became a major focus of research and numerous functions and interactions were proposed. In concert, varying subcellular distributions of Spindlin1 have been reported. However, the origins of these variations remain unclear. Many findings on Spindlin1 are rooted in a fixation-based methodology. Here, we show that formaldehyde fixation leads to nucleolar enrichment of mCherry tagged Spindlin1 and that nucleolar antibody detection of Spindlin1 depends on the targeted epitope. This suggests that part of the discrepancies in literature are based on methodological artifacts and demonstrates the need for complementary approaches.