Nuclear envelope budding is a response to cellular stress
Dimitra Panagaki, Jacob T. Croft, Katharina Keuenhof, Lisa Larsson Berglund, Stefanie Andersson, Verena Kohler, Sabrina Büttner, Markus J. Tamás, Thomas Nyström, Richard Neutze, Johanna L. Höög
Abstract
Significance A defining feature of eukaryotes is the nuclear envelope, a double lipid bilayer that serves to isolate and protect the cell’s genetic material. Transport of large molecules over this barrier is believed to occur almost exclusively via the nuclear pores. However, herpes virions and mega-ribonucleoproteins (megaRNPs) use an alternative means of transport—via nuclear envelope budding (NEB). Here, we show NEB is a ubiquitous eukaryotic phenomenon and increases when exposed to various forms of cellular stress. NEB frequency was maximal when the cell was challenged with a drug that induces protein misfolding, indicating this transport pathway plays a role in protein quality control. These results imply that NEB is an underappreciated yet potentially fundamental means of nuclear transport.