The nuclear envelope (NE) creates a barrier between the cytosol and nucleus during interphase that is key for cellular compartmentalization and protecting genomic DNA. NE rupture can expose genomic DNA to the cytosol and allow admixture of the nuclear and cytosolic constituents, a proposed mechanism of cancer and NE-associated diseases. Barrier-to-autointegration factor (BAF) is a DNA-binding protein that localizes to NE ruptures where it recruits LEM-domain proteins, A-type lamins, and participates in rupture repair. To further reveal the mechanisms by which BAF responds to and aids in repairing NE ruptures, we investigated known properties of BAF including LEM domain binding, lamin binding, compartmentalization, phosphoregulation of DNA binding, and BAF dimerization. We demonstrate that it is the cytosolic population of BAF that functionally repairs NE ruptures, and phosphoregulation of BAF's DNA-binding that enables its ability to facilitate that repair. Interestingly, BAF's LEM or lamin binding activity appears dispensable for its role in functional repair. Furthermore, we demonstrate that BAF functions to reduce the extent of leakage though NE ruptures, suggesting that BAF effectively forms a diffusion barrier prior to NE repair. Collectively, these results enhances our knowledge of the mechanisms by which BAF responds to NE ruptures and facilitates their repair.
Keywords: BAF; Barrier-to-autointegration factor; LEM-domain; Nuclear rupture; lamins; nuclear envelope.