Lamin post-translational modifications: emerging toggles of nuclear organization and function

Nuclear lamins are ancient type V intermediate filaments with diverse functions that include maintaining nuclear shape, mechanosignaling, tethering and stabilizing chromatin, regulating gene expression, and contributing to cell cycle progression. Despite these numerous roles, an outstanding question has been how lamins are regulated. Accumulating work indicates that a range of lamin post-translational modifications (PTMs) control their functions both in homeostatic cells and in disease states such as progeria, muscular dystrophy, and viral infection. Here, we review the current knowledge of the diverse types of PTMs that regulate lamins in a site-specific manner. We highlight methods that can be used to characterize lamin PTMs whose functions are currently unknown and provide a perspective on the future of the lamin PTM field.