Extensive research in recent years has broadened the functions of nuclear envelope
proteins beyond simply stabilizing the nucleus architecture. Particularly, integral nuclear membrane
proteins, such as the alternative spliced
isoforms of
lamina-associated polypeptide 2 (LAP2), have been shown to be important for the initiation of replication and repression of transcription. The latter is regulated by epigenetic changes, induced by the binding of
LAP2beta to
histone deacetylase-3 (HDAC3), resulting in
histone H4 deacetylation. Involvement of nuclear envelope
proteins in pathological proliferative conditions, mainly those involving abnormal recruitment and activation of HDACs, is still unknown. In this paper, we show that various nuclear envelope
proteins are highly expressed in normal and malignant activated lymphocytes. Specifically, rapidly replicating cells of various
hematological malignancies highly express
LAP2beta, while slowly proliferating malignant cells of chronic malignant
hematological diseases do not. Taking together the elevated expression of
LAP2beta in highly proliferative malignant cells with its known ability to modify
histones through binding with HDAC3 raises the possibility of its role in
hematological malignancies involving aberrant activity of HDAC3. Based on our presented results, we believe that the LAP2-HDAC regulatory pathway should be studied as a new target for rational
therapy.