Oct. 3, 2011 A factor that is crucial for the proper positioning
of genes in the cell nucleus has been discovered by a team of
researchers from the Alexander Silberman Institute of Life
Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Friedrich
Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel,
Switzerland. The researchers found that the lamin filamentous
network is an essential element in this proper positioning, the
lack of which can cause specific diseases. Lamin proteins make
filaments that are located mainly at the periphery of the cell
nucleus, which stores and transcribes genetic material in all
living matter. The lamins maintain the nuclear shape and help
organize chromosomes. Mutations in the genes that encode lamin
proteins cause 14 different diseases in man, collectively termed
laminopathies. These include early aging diseases and diseases
that affect peripheral neurons, heart, skin, bones and muscles.
One of the muscle diseases caused by dominant mutations in the
gene encoding lamin A is E