The nuclear envelope is a membrane system which surrounds the nucleoplasm of eukaryotic cells. It is composed of the nuclear lamina, nuclear pore complexes and two nuclear membranes. The space between the two membranes is called the nuclear intermembrane space.
Involved in the nuclear import of cdc25 and mcs1. {Experimental EvidencePubMed:12399381}. Functions in nuclear protein import as nuclear transport receptor. Serves as receptor for nuclear localization signals (NLS) in cargo substrates. Involved in the nuclear import of cdc25 and mcs1 (PubMed:12399381). Mediates docking of the importin/substrate complex to the nuclear pore complex (NPC) through binding to repeat-containing nucleoporins. The complex is subsequently translocated through the pore by an energy requiring, Ran-dependent mechanism. At the nucleoplasmic side of the NPC, GTP-Ran binding leads to release of the cargo. The importin is re-exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm where GTP hydrolysis releases Ran from importin. The directionality of nuclear import is thought to be conferred by an asymmetric distribution of the GTP- and GDP-bound forms of Ran between the cytoplasm and nucleus (By similarity). {By
SimilarityUniProtKB:P32337, Experimental EvidencePubMed:12399381}.
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Department of Biology
Biophysics & Bioinformatics Laboratory