Home > Browse Issues > Vol.35 No.10
Cajal Body─A Nuclear Organelle with Sophisticate Functions
Yue Zhixia1,2, Zhang Chenguang2, Ding Wei2*
1Hematology Oncology Center at Beijing Children’s Hospital in affiliation of Capital Medical University, Beijing 100045, China; 2Department of Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Capital Medical University, Beijing 10
Abstract: Cajal body (CB) has been discovered more than a century. Nonetheless， it was only lately identified for its complex molecular components and sophisticated functions with the research breakthroughs of the past decade. As an interesting and dynamic organelle in the nucleoplasm， CB widely exist in a vast spectrum of higher eukaryotes and is characterized as the globular structures under the electro-microscope， in which the protein of p80 Coilin is a distinguishable molecular maker. Various components have been identified in CB， including the nucleic acids and snRNP complex needed for mRNA splicing， snoRNAs and scaRNAs with their associated proteins， certain transcription factors required for gene activation， protein factors for mRNA modification， as well as the key molecules to regulate cell proliferation and cell cycle. CB is known as the exact site for snRNAs， snoRNAs， and scaRNAs maturation， and it is also responsible for maintaining the length of telomeres. Hence， CB is believed to relate closely with cell cycle and the proliferation， stress and aging of cells. The abnormal function of CB is suggested to associate with disease processes， such as tumorigenesis. This review summarizes the latest advances of CB-related research， and discusses mainly about the structure and function of the Cajal body in connection with diseases.
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