The nuclear envelope forms the interface between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. The nuclear envelope consists of the two concentric lipid membranes, the nuclear pores and the nuclear lamina. The inner nuclear membrane contains hundreds of unique transmembrane proteins showing high tissue diversity. Mutations of some proteins in the nuclear envelope give rise to a broad spectrum of diseases called envelopathies or laminopathies. In this thesis, I aimed to study the functional organization of the nuclear envelope by identifying and characterizing interactions between the nuclear envelope proteins. For this, we developed a novel method called the Membrane Protein Crosslink Immuno-Precipitation, which enable identification of protein-protein interactions in the nuclear envelope in live cells. We identified several novel interactions of the inner nuclear membrane protein, Samp1, and studied the interaction between the Samp1 and the nuclear GTPase, Ran in detail. Samp1 can bind to Ran and is thus the first known transmembrane Ran binding protein and Samp1 might provide a local binding site for Ran in the inner nuclear membrane. We found that Samp1 also binds to the inner nuclear membrane protein, Emerin and Ran can regulate the Samp1-Emerin interaction in the nuclear envelope. During mitosis, Samp1 distributes in the mitotic spindle. Therefore, we investigated a possible functional role of Samp1 in the mitotic machinery. Samp1 depletion resulted in aneuploid phenotypes, metaphase prolongation and decreased distribution of γ-tubulin and β-tubulin in the mitotic spindle. We found that Samp1 can bind to γ-tubulin, which is essential for the microtubule nucleation and hence for the spindle stability. The new interesting features of Samp1 provide insights on the unforeseen functions of the nuclear envelope proteins. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammation of the bowel, is a multi-factorial condition where uncontrolled immune responses to luminal bacteria occur in genetically predisposed individuals. The first observable clinical signs are small ulcers that form at a specialised form of epithelium, follicle-associated epithelium (FAB). The FAB covers immune inductive sites, Peyer's patches, which function primarily as sensory areas that sample the externaI gut environment. Dendritic cells are one of the key cells that are involved in sensing luminal contents and orchestrating the gut immune system. The main aim of this thesis was to determine whether the barrier of the FAB is breached in Crohn's disease and if dysfunctional immune regulators, namely dendritic cells, playaroIe in initiating and/or maintaining the chronic intestinal inflammation. Using biopsies and surgical specimens, we were able to show that in Crohn's disease, there was an increased transmucosaI transport of Escherichia coli compared to specimens from ulcerative colitis and non-inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) controIs. Dendritic cells internalised a higher percentage of bacteria that had translocated across the FAB in the Crohn's samples. Furthermore, significantly higher concentrations of TNF-u was released upon bacterial stimulation by tissues from patients with Crohn's disease than in controIs. We went on to characterise the dendritic cells present in the Peyer's patches of patients with Crohn's disease. We found an accumulation of both immature and mature dendritic cells beneath the FAB, in the sub-epithelial dome (SED). Normally, mature dendritic cells migrate towards T cell-rich areas. However, we observed mature dendritic cells accumulating in the SED because they lacked the CCR7 migratory receptor. Furthermore, they were more prone to take-up bacteria, and produced TNF-α. To study the function of mucosal dendritic cells, we performed isolation experiments and mixed Iymphocyte reactions. Dendritic cells from both the ileum and blood of patients with active Crohn's had reduced capacity for inducing T cell proliferation than non-IBD controIs. Blood dendritic cells of patients in remission had normalised function that was similar to dendritic cells from healthy controls. The SAMPl/YitFc mice, considered an appropriate murine model for Crohn's disease, had an inherent permeability defect that increased with the chronicity of intestinaI inflammation. However unlike in human Crohn's disease, dendritic cells did not seem to playaroIe in murine ileitis. This thesis highlights the accumulation of the actively surveying dendritic cells that are prone to bacterial internalisation, and points to their possible different functional roles in active versus in-active disease; thereby confirming dendritic cells as one ofthe key components in the pathogenesis ofCrohn's disease.