Spatial arrangement of genes, centromeres and chromosomes in human blood cell nuclei and its changes during the cell cycle, differentiation and after irradiation
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2000 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Chromosome Research |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | abstract |
| Field | Genetics and molecular biology |
| Keywords | cell cycle; chromosomes; differentiation; image analysis; nuclear structure |
| Description | Higher-order compartments of nuclear chromatin have been defined according to the replication timing, transcriptional activity, and information content (Ferreira et al. 1997, Sadoni et al. 1999). The results presented in this work contribute to this model of nuclear organization. Using different human blood cells, nuclear positioning of genes, centromeres, and whole chromosomes was investigated. Genes are located mostly in the interior of cell nuclei; centromeres are located near the nuclear periphery in agreement with the definition of the higher-order compartments. Genetic loci are found in specific subregions of cell nuclei which form distinct layers at defined centre-of-nucleus to locus distances. Inside these layers, the genetic loci are distributed randomly. Some chromosomes are polarized with genes located in the inner parts of the nucleus and centromere located on the nuclear periphery; polar organization was not found for some other chromosomes. |
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