Nuclear pores and nuclear assembly

Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2001 Jun;13(3):363-75. doi: 10.1016/s0955-0674(00)00221-0.

Abstract

Communication between the nucleus and cytoplasm occurs through large macromolecular structures, the nuclear pores. Quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy has estimated the mass of a nuclear pore to be 60 million Daltons in yeast and 120 million Daltons in vertebrates. The past two years were noteworthy in that they saw: 1) the purification of both the yeast and vertebrate nuclear pores, 2) the initial description of routes through the pore for specific transport receptors, 3) glimpses of intranuclear organization imposed by the nuclear pores and envelope and 4) the revelation of new and pivotal roles for the small GTPase Ran not only in nuclear import but in spindle assembly and nuclear membrane fusion.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Active Transport, Cell Nucleus / physiology*
  • Animals
  • Fungal Proteins / chemistry
  • Fungal Proteins / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Nuclear Envelope / chemistry
  • Nuclear Envelope / metabolism
  • Nuclear Pore / chemistry
  • Nuclear Pore / metabolism*
  • Nuclear Pore / ultrastructure*
  • Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins*
  • RNA-Binding Proteins
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins*
  • Spindle Apparatus / physiology*
  • Spindle Apparatus / ultrastructure
  • Vertebrates / physiology
  • Yeasts / physiology
  • ran GTP-Binding Protein / metabolism*

Substances

  • Fungal Proteins
  • MLP1 protein, S cerevisiae
  • MLP2 protein, S cerevisiae
  • Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • RNA-Binding Proteins
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
  • ran GTP-Binding Protein