The Reactivation of the Red Cell Nucleus

Abstract

When the nucleus of a mature hen erythrocyte is introduced into the cytoplasm of a HeLa cell it resumes the synthesis of RNA and DNA. This reactivation of the red cell nucleus in the heterokaryon is associated with a marked increase in its volume. There is a direct relationship between the volume of the nucleus and the amount of RNA which it makes. The nuclear enlargement is not a consequence of increased RNA synthesis, or of DNA synthesis: enlargement is the primary event, and the increase in RNA synthesis is determined by it. The possibility is considered that changes in nuclear volume may regulate not only the amount of RNA made in the nucleus but also the areas of chromatin on which it is made.