The cell nucleus is more than a container for genetic information, it is a mechanically active organelle that senses, transmits, and responds to physical forces. Chromatin itself behaves as a viscoelastic material whose structural organization is shaped by the mechanical state of the cell, and in turn, feeds back to regulate gene expression and genome stability. Understanding how nuclear mechanics and chromatin architecture intersect to govern genome function has emerged as a frontier in cell and molecular biology.
The nucleus maintains its shape and mechanical integrity primarily through the nuclear lamina, a meshwork of lamin proteins that connects chromatin to the nuclear envelope and links the nuclear interior to the cytoskeleton via the LINC complex. Disruption of this architecture, as seen in laminopathies, altered chromatin compaction states, or aberrant cytoskeletal tension, can lead to profound changes in 3D genome folding, enhancer–promoter contacts, and transcriptional programs. How these mechanical perturbations translate into specific gene regulatory outcomes, and how cells adapt or fail to adapt, remains an open and pressing question.
This Research Topic invites contributions that address the mechanical dimension of genome organization across scales, including but not limited to:
- The role of nuclear shape, lamina integrity, and chromatin compaction in modulating 3D genome architecture and gene regulation - Mechanotransduction pathways that relay extracellular forces and cytoskeletal tension to chromatin reorganization and transcriptional responses - Biophysical approaches to measure and model chromatin elasticity, viscoelasticity, and nuclear rheology, including atomic force microscopy, micropipette aspiration, and computational modeling - Pathological alterations in nuclear and chromatin mechanics in aging, cancer, and rare genetic diseases, and strategies to restore mechanical homeostasis
We welcome original research, reviews, and perspectives spanning biophysics, cell biology, genomics, and disease biology. By bringing together these communities, this collection aims to build a coherent mechanistic framework for understanding how physical forces shape the genome, and how their disruption drives disease.
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Article types
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
