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Nuclear lipids: New functions for old molecules?
Author(s) -
Martelli Alberto M.,
Tabellini G.,
Borgatti P.,
Bortul R.,
Capitani S.,
Neri L.M.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of cellular biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 165
eISSN - 1097-4644
pISSN - 0730-2312
DOI - 10.1002/jcb.10379
Subject(s) - microbiology and biotechnology , second messenger system , biology , diacylglycerol kinase , signal transduction , chromatin , rna splicing , lipid metabolism , cell nucleus , nucleus , biochemistry , rna , gene , protein kinase c
It is becoming increasingly evident that stimulation of nuclear lipid metabolism plays a central role in many signal transduction pathways that ultimately result in various cell responses including proliferation and differentiation. Nuclear lipid metabolism seems to be at least as complex as that existing at the plasma membrane. However, a distinctive feature of nuclear lipid biochemical pathways is their operational independence from their cell periphery counterparts. Although initially it was thought that nuclear lipids would serve as a source for second messengers, recent evidence points to the likelihood that lipids present in the nucleus also fulfil other roles. The aim of this review is to highlight the most intriguing advances made in the field over the last year, such as the production of new probes for the in situ mapping of nuclear phosphoinositides, the identification of two sources for nuclear diacylglycerol production, the emerging details about the peculiar regulation of nuclear phosphoinositide synthesizing enzymes, and the distinct possibility that nuclear lipids are involved in processes such as chromatin organization and pre‐mRNA splicing. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.