Roles of DNA Damage Response Pathway in the Regulation of the Nuclear Envelope

The nuclear envelope (NE) functions as a barrier between the cytoplasm and nucleus. Over the past decade, NE has revealed unexpectedly divergent structural alterations. NE rupture triggers the uncontrollable exchange of macromolecules across the NE and potentially causes DNA damage. Conversely, a recent study demonstrated that DNA damage induces NE rupture and that one of the major kinases in the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway, ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein, ATR, is a key molecule in these events. Here, we review the role of the DDR pathway in NE regulation, with a focus mainly on ATR.