Nuclear, Chromosomal, and Genomic Architecture in Biology and Medicine

This volume reviews the latest research on the functional implications of nuclear, chromosomal and genomic organization and architecture on cell and organismal biology, and development and progression of diseases.

The architecture of the cell nucleus and non-random arrangement of chromosomes, genes, and the non-membranous nuclear bodies in the three-dimensional (3D) space alters in response to the environmental, mechanical, chemical, and temporal cues. The changes in the nuclear, chromosomal, or genomic compaction and configuration modify the gene expression program and induce or inhibit epigenetic modifications. The intrinsically programmed rearrangements of the nuclear architecture are necessary for cell differentiation, the establishment of cell fate during development and maturation of tissues and organs including the immune, muscle, and nervous systems.

The non-programmed changes in the nuclear architecture can lead to fragmentation of the nucleus and instability of the genome and thus cause cancer. Microbial and viral infections can lead to a clustering of centromeres, telomeres and ribosomal DNA and alter the properties of the nuclear membrane, allowing large immobile macromolecules to enter the nucleus.  

Recent advances in next-generation sequencing technologies combined with nucleus/chromosome conformation capture, super-resolution imaging, chromosomal contact maps methods, integrative modeling, and genetic approaches, are uncovering novel features and importance of nuclear, chromosomal and genomic architecture. 

Biographie

Malgorzata Kloc: Prior to completing her postdoctoral training in Canada, Dr. Malgorzata Kloc was a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Warsaw, Poland. She also served as a Research Associate in the Department of Biology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. While completing her postdoctoral training, Dr. Kloc earned the AHFMR Research Award from the University of Calgary and the MRC Biotechnology Training Award from Dalhousie University. She joined the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center as a Research Scientist in the Department of Molecular Genetics in 1987, and became an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology there in 2006. Dr. Kloc joined the Houston Methodist Research Institute in 2008. Currently, Dr. Kloc is the Weill Cornell Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at The Houston Methodist Hospital and the Adjunct Professor at Department of Genetics, University of Texas, M D Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Jacek Z. Kubiak is the Research Director (Full Professor) at the French CNRS in Rennes, France. His research is devoted to molecular mechanisms of early embryo development, cell cycle regulation, stem cells, cancer cells and the role of macrophages in the innate immune response. He is the author of 180 highly cited scientific articles and the editor or co-editor of 6 books. He has graduated from the Warsaw University, Poland and worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA and Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, USA. He collaborates with research institutes in Poland combining stem cells and cancer research with with the prospective in medical applications. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, he co-ordinates an international research group focused on SARS-CoV-2 infection in paediatric patients in WIM institute, Warsaw, Poland.