HNRNPU and architectural lncRNAs as nuclear tethers of epithelial state stability
摘要
Skin biology is commonly framed through signaling pathways that reprogram transcription in response to inflammatory and environmental cues. Here, a complementary perspective is proposed: epidermal homeostasis and disease recurrence may also depend on the physical organization of the genome within the nucleus. HNRNPU/SAF-A has emerged as an RNA-dependent architectural factor that links RNA binding to chromatin topology, while architectural long non-coding RNAs provide precedents for how RNA can scaffold nuclear compartments and influence higher-order genome organization. Building on these concepts, the Epidermal Differentiation Complex is considered as a tractable epidermal locus in which RNA-dependent nuclear tethering may help stabilize barrier gene programs. This framework further suggests that chronic inflammation could remodel chromatin architecture in ways that persist after apparent resolution, generating a “structural scar” that biases future responses. Although this model remains hypothetical, it is now experimentally testable. By integrating architectural RNA biology with epidermal differentiation and inflammatory memory, this Perspective provides a roadmap for investigating how nuclear structure may contribute to epithelial state stability and how it may be altered in inflammatory skin disease.