Transcription Inhibition Suppresses Nuclear Blebbing and Rupture Independent of Nuclear Rigidity

This lecture by Andrew Stephens explores how transcription inhibition suppresses nuclear blebbing and rupture independent of nuclear rigidity. Learn about the essential role chromatin plays in nuclear mechanical response and shape maintenance, which are crucial for nuclear compartmentalization and function. Discover how inhibiting RNA polymerase II with various inhibitors suppresses nuclear blebbing across different cell types and nuclear perturbations. The presentation explains that transcription inhibition affects bleb formation, stabilization, and bleb-based nuclear ruptures without altering histone H3 lysine 9 modification state, nuclear rigidity, or actin compression and contraction. Examine polymer simulations suggesting RNA polymerase II motor activity within chromatin drives chromatin motions that deform the nuclear periphery. Professor Stephens, an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, brings his extensive background in studying dynein processivity, pericentromeric chromatin springs, and nuclear mechanics to this comprehensive 59-minute talk from the Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering.