Towards understanding the three-dimensional structure of the nuclear pore complex at the molecular level

Abstract

Over the past two years there has been significant progress in elucidating the three-dimensional structure of the nuclear pore complex, and in identifying and characterizing some of its molecular constituents. An important advance has been the localization in three dimensions of three distinct nucleoporins within the nuclear pore complex. Another highlight has been the development of a procedure to isolate milligram quantities of nuclear pore complexes from yeast, which opens the possibility of combining genetic analyses with structural and functional studies. Nevertheless, there remain a number of key questions and ambiguities relating to the existence, conformation and functional significance of distinct nuclear pore complex components. Here we review these advances and discuss some of the remaining controversies in this exciting area of nucleocytoplasmic trafficking.