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Publication Abstract from PubMed

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) conduct nucleocytoplasmic transport through an FG domain-controlled barrier. We now explore how surface-features of a mobile species determine its NPC passage rate. Negative charges and lysines impede passage. Hydrophobic residues, certain polar residues (Cys, His), and, surprisingly, charged arginines have striking translocation-promoting effects. Favorable cation-pi interactions between arginines and FG-phenylalanines may explain this apparent paradox. Application of these principles to redesign the surface of GFP resulted in variants that show a wide span of transit rates, ranging from 35-fold slower than wild-type to approximately 500 times faster, with the latter outpacing even naturally occurring nuclear transport receptors (NTRs). The structure of a fast and particularly FG-specific GFP(NTR) variant illustrates how NTRs can expose multiple regions for binding hydrophobic FG motifs while evading non-specific aggregation. Finally, we document that even for NTR-mediated transport, the surface-properties of the "passively carried" cargo can strikingly affect the translocation rate.

Surface Properties Determining Passage Rates of Proteins through Nuclear Pores.,Frey S, Rees R, Schunemann J, Ng SC, Funfgeld K, Huyton T, Gorlich D Cell. 2018 Jun 28;174(1):202-217.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.05.045. PMID:29958108^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.