Nucleoplasmic lamins and their interaction partners, LAP2α, Rb, and BAF, in transcriptional regulation

Lamins are major structural components of the nuclear envelope in multicellular eukaryotes. Particularly A-type lamins are also located in the nucleoplasm, likely involving a specific binding partner, lamina-associated polypeptide 2 alpha (LAP2 alpha). LAP2 alpha-lamins A/C complexes in the nucleoplasm have been implicated in the regulation of gene expression by various means. They bind chromatin proteins and chromatin modifying enzymes, and can thus participate in epigenetic control pathways. Furthermore, binding of lamins A/C complexes to specific transcription factors and repressors may directly affect their transcriptional activity. LAP2 alpha-lamins A/C also regulate retinoblastoma protein and influence cell cycle progression and differentiation, which could have important implications for molecular mechanisms of laminopathic diseases, linked to lamins A/C mutations.