What properties of the nucleus facilitate mechanotransduction? Similar to the concept of long distance force propagation along the cytoskeleton, the prestressed nuclear state, which counterbalances intracellular forces from the cytoskeleton, enables mechanotransduction [1][2]. Both [...]

How is nuclear “prestress” maintained? As an integral part of cellular behavior, cells are sensitive to matrix rigidity, local geometry and stress or strain applied by external factors [1]. In recent years, it has [...]

How is the nucleus coupled to the cytoskeleton? Cytoskeletal filaments bridge the nucleus to the plasma membrane, which in turn is anchored at sub-cellular sites to extracellular substrates via a plethora of proteins that [...]

What are nucleosomes? In order to fit DNA into the nucleus, it must be packaged into a highly compacted structure known as chromatin. In the first step of this process DNA is condensed into [...]

What is chromatin, heterochromatin and euchromatin? The human genome contains over 3 billion base pairs or nucleotides. These nucleotides, which are arranged in a linear sequence along DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), encode every protein and [...]

What are chromosomes and chromosome territories? While metaphase chromosomes can be depicted as distinct bodies with well-defined shapes and sizes, interphase chromosomes are less uniform and, by filling the nuclear space, difficult to distinguish. [...]