Schwartz Thomas U
Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, MA, USA.
J Mol Biol. 2016 May 22;428(10 Pt A):1986-2000. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2016.03.015. Epub 2016 Mar 22.
The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is the principal gateway for molecular exchange between nucleus and cytoplasm across the nuclear envelope. Due to its sheer size of estimated 50-112MDa and its complex buildup from about 500-1000 individual proteins, it is a difficult object to study for structural biologists. Here, I review the extensive ensemble of high-resolution structures of the building blocks of the NPC. Concurrent with the increase in size and complexity, these latest, large structures and assemblies can now be used as the basis for hybrid approaches, primarily in combination with cryo-electron microscopic analysis, generating the first structure-based assembly models of the NPC. Going forward, the structures will be critically important for a detailed analysis of the NPC, including function, evolution, and assembly.
核孔复合体（NPC）是分子在细胞核与细胞质之间通过核膜进行交换的主要通道。由于其估计大小高达50 - 112MDa，且由约500 - 1000个单个蛋白质组成，结构复杂，对于结构生物学家来说是一个难以研究的对象。在此，我回顾了核孔复合体组成部分的大量高分辨率结构。随着其大小和复杂性的增加，这些最新的大型结构和组件现在可作为混合方法的基础，主要是与冷冻电子显微镜分析相结合，生成了首个基于结构的核孔复合体组装模型。展望未来，这些结构对于深入分析核孔复合体，包括其功能、进化和组装，将至关重要。
