Nuclear Pore Complex Assembly Research Articles

Nup180, a novel nuclear pore complex protein localizing to the cytoplasmic ring and associated fibrils.

Using an autoimmune serum from a patient with overlap connective tissue disease we have identified by biochemical and immunocytochemical approaches an evolutionarily conserved nuclear pore complex (NPC) protein with an estimated molecular mass of 180 kD and an isoelectric point of approximately 6.2 which we have designated as nup180. Extraction of isolated nuclear envelopes with 2 M urea and chromatography of the solubilized proteins on WGA-Sepharose demonstrated that nup180 is a peripheral membrane protein and does not react with WGA. Affinity-purified antibodies yielded a punctate immunofluorescent pattern of the nuclear surface of mammalian cells and stained brightly the nuclear envelope of cryosectioned Xenopus oocytes. Nuclei reconstituted in vitro in Xenopus egg extract were also stained in the characteristic punctate fashion. Immunogold EM localized nup180 exclusively to the cytoplasmic ring of NPCs and short fibers emanating therefrom into the cytoplasm. Antibodies to nup180 did not inhibit nuclear protein transport in vivo nor in vitro. Despite the apparent lack of involvement in NPC assembly or nucleocytoplasmic transport processes, the conservation of nup180 across species and its exclusive association with the NPC cytoplasmic ring suggests an important, though currently undefined function for this novel NPC protein.

A distinct vesicle population targets membranes and pore complexes to the nuclear envelope in Xenopus eggs.

Extracts from Xenopus eggs capable of nuclear envelope assembly in vitro were fractionated by differential and density gradient centrifugation. Nuclear envelope assembly was found to require soluble components in the cytosol and two distinct particulate fractions, which we have called nuclear envelope precursor fractions A and B (NEP-A and NEP-B). Both NEP-A and NEP-B are sensitive to treatments with trypsin, sodium carbonate, and detergents, but can be distinguished from each other by their sensitivities to high salt and N-ethylmaleimide and by their levels of alpha-glucosidase activity. Vesicles in NEP-B bind to chromatin, whereas those in NEP-A do not. NEP-B may therefore be involved in the targeting of membranes to the surface of the chromatin, whereas NEP-A may provide a pool of vesicles that contributes many of the nuclear envelope membranes. NEP-B may also play a role in the assembly of nuclear pore complexes because the density of nuclear pores in the resulting envelope is dependent on the ratio of NEP-B to NEP-A in the reconstituted extract.

Assembly of nuclear pore complexes in Xenopus egg extract

Assembly of nuclear pore complexes in <i>Xenopus</i> egg extract