Cryo-electron Microscopy Reveals the Structure of the Nuclear Pore Complex.

Journal: Journal of molecular biology
Published Date: May 1, 2023

Abstract

The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is a giant protein assembly that penetrates the double layers of the nuclear membrane. The overall structure of the NPC has approximately eightfold symmetry and is formed by approximately 30 nucleoporins. The great size and complexity of the NPC have hindered the study of its structure for many years until recent breakthroughs were achieved by integrating the latest high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), the emerging artificial intelligence-based modeling and all other available structural information from crystallography and mass spectrometry. Here, we review our latest knowledge of the NPC architecture and the history of its structural study from in vitro to in situ with progressively improved resolutions by cryo-EM, with a particular focus on the latest subnanometer-resolution structural studies. The future directions for structural studies of NPCs are also discussed.

Authors

  • Linhua Tai
    National Key Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/TLinhua.
  • Guoliang Yin
    National Key Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
  • Fei Sun
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
  • Yun Zhu
    College of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China.

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