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Coilin, more than a molecular marker of the Cajal (coiled) body
Author(s) -
Bellini Michel
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/1521-1878(200009)22:9<861::aid-bies12>3.0.co;2-y
Subject(s) - cajal body , biology , nucleolus , microbiology and biotechnology , organelle , interstitial cell of cajal , genetics , nucleus , rna , gene , immunohistochemistry , rna splicing , immunology
The Cajal (coiled) body is a discrete nuclear organelle that was first described in mammalian neurons in 1903. Because the molecular composition, structure, and function of Cajal bodies were unknown, these enigmatic structures were largely ignored for most of the last century. The Cajal body has now regained the interest of biologists, due to the isolation of a protein marker, coilin. Despite current widespread use of coilin to identify Cajal bodies in various cell types, its structure and function are still little understood. Here, I would like to discuss what we have learned about coilin and suggest a possible role for coilin in RNA processing and cellular trafficking, especially in relation to Cajal bodies and nucleoli. Although coilin has been investigated primarily in somatic cells, I will emphasize the advantages of using the amphibian oocyte to study nuclear proteins and organelles. BioEssays 22:861–867, 2000. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.