Maximiliano A. D'Angelo, Ph.D.

Research

A hallmark of eukaryotic cells is that the genome is enclosed by the nuclear envelope (NE), a double lipid bilayer that physically separates the nuclear interior from the cytoplasm. The NE is penetrated by large multiprotein channels known nuclear pore complexes or NPCs. Historically, NPCs were considered static structures whose main and only function was to control the exchange of molecules between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. But this simplistic view of the NPC is now changing, as it has become evident that NPCs are highly dynamic complexes with many transport-independent functions such as chromatin organization, gene expression regulation and the control of cell fate. The main focus of our laboratory is to study the role of nuclear pore complexes in nuclear organization, cell differentiation, aging and disease.