Understanding the role of nuclear lamina during the murine polyomavirus infection using microscopy

Abstract

The nuclear lamina (NL) is a dense meshwork of intermediate filaments V, type A lamins (lamin A/C), type B lamins (lamin B1 and B2) and membrane associated proteins. NL is located closely adjacent to the nucleoplasmic side of the inner nuclear membrane. It maintains the shape and integrity of the nucleus and plays important role in fine-tuning of DNA related processes e.g., replication and transcription and has been suggested to play a role in cell defense against pathogens. For viruses replicating in the nucleus, NL represents a natural barrier that restricts translocation of their genomes to the nucleus during entry or prevents virus progeny exit from the nucleus late times post-infection. Viruses had evolved different mechanisms to overcome this obstacle by affecting NL integrity or its composition. We followed a possible role of NL in the murine polyomavirus infection (MPyV).