Nuclear envelope complex

Nucleus The nucleus is separated from the cytosol by a double membrane, the nuclear envelope. The DNA is complexed with basic proteins (histones) to form chromatin fibers, the material from which chromosomes are made. A distinct RNA-rich region, the nucleolus, is the site of ribosome assembly. The nucleus is the repository of genetic information encoded in DNA and organized into chromosomes. During mitosis, the chromosomes are replicated and transmitted to the daughter cells. The genetic information of DNA is transcribed into RNA in the nucleus and passes into the cytosol where it is translated into protein by ribosomes. 

The nuclear pore complex, located in the nuclear envelope, contains more than 50 proteins. It allows diffusion of small proteins between cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. Larger molecules (>50kD) are selectively transported by an energy-dependent mechanism. 

In terms of evolutionary biology, the complex mitotic process of higher animals and plants has evolved through a progression of steps from simple prokaryotic fission sequences. In prokaryotic cells, the two copies of replicated chromosomes become attached to specialized regions of the cell membrane and are separated by the slow intrusion of the membrane between them. In many primitive eukaryotes, the nuclear membrane participates in a similar process and remains intact the spindle microtubules are extranuclear but may indent the nuclear membrane to form parallel channels. In yeasts and diatoms, the nuclear membrane also remains intact, an intranuclear polar spindle forms and attaches at each pole to the nuclear envelope, and a single kinetochore microtubule moves each chromosome to a pole. In the cells of higher animals and plants, the mitotic spindle starts to form outside of the nucleus, the nuclear envelope breaks down, and the spindle microtubules are captured by chromosomes (Kubai, 1975 Heath, 1980 Alberts et al., 1989). 

The nuclear envelope is composed of the nuclear membranes (inner and outer), the nuclear lamina, and the nuclear pore complexes. The inner and outer nuclear membranes are connected at the nuclear pore sites and enclose a flattened sac... 

The nucleus is surrounded by the nuclear envelope, which takes on a lumenal structure connected to the endoplasmic reticulum. The transport of proteins into (and out of) the nucleus occurs through the nuclear pore complex (NPC), a large complex composed of more than 100 different proteins (Talcott and Moore, 1999). Because NPC forms an aqueous pore across the two membranes, small proteins less than 9 nm in diameter can pass through it simply by diffusion. However, most of the transports of both proteins and RNAs are mediated by an active transport mechanism. It is now clear that there is heavy traffic through the NPC in both directions. Proteins are not only imported into the nucleus but also actively exported from it as well. There are many reasons for nuclear export. One reason is to send some shuttle proteins back after their import another is for some viral proteins to export their replicated genomes outside the nucleus. 

The end stage of liposomal gene transfer is the entry of the DNA complex into the nucleus of the cell to allow gene transcription (134,135), and entry to the nucleus can by attained following the breakdown of the nuclear envelope... 

O-GlcNAc s subcellular localization in rat hepatocytes established that it is highly concentrated at the nuclear envelope, particularly at the nuclear pore complex, but is also abundant and widespread within chromatin (Holt and Hart, 1986). Aside from the biosynthetic intermediates,... 

The nuclear envelope is perforated with huge macromolecular assemblies of 30 different proteins that form nuclear pore complexes with a central channel of 25-30 nm in diameter. This channel allows proteins smaller than 30 kDa to passively traverse the outer and inner nuclear membranes. Larger proteins are actively transported across the nuclear envelope and contain nuclear localization signal (NLS) sequence motifs. These signals consist of one or two clusters of four or five basic residues localized usually within the polypeptide chain. The import of proteins with NLS through the channel is facilitated by the carrier heterodimer of importin-a ( > (Gorlich and Kutay 1999 Pemberton and Paschal... 

Each cell nucleus contains one or more dense nucleoli, regions that are rich in RNA and may contain 10-20% of the total RNA of cells. Nucleoli are sites of synthesis and of temporary storage of ribosomal RNA, which is needed for assembly of ribosomes. The nuclear envelope is a pair of membranes, usually a few tens of nanometers apart, that surround the nucleus. The two membranes of the pair separate off a thin perinuclear space (Fig. 1-7). The membranes contain "pores" -130 ran in diameter with a complex structure (see Fig. 27-8).38/39 There is a central channel -42 ran in diameter, which provides a route for controlled passage of RNA and other large molecules from the nucleus into the cytoplasm and also from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Smaller -10 nm channels allow passive diffusion of ions and small molecules. 

Noncompetitive inhibition 476,477 Nonheme iron proteins. See Iron-sulfur and diiron proteins Nonlinear equations 460 Nonmetallic ions, ionic radii, table 310 Nonproductive complexes 475 Norepinephrine (noradrenaline) 553,553s in receptor 555s Nuclear envelope 11... 

Figure 27-7 Native nuclear lamina of Xenopus oocytes. Freeze-dried metal-shadowed nuclear envelope extracted with Triton X-100, revealing the nuclear lamina meshwork partially covered with arrays of nuclear pore complexes. Inset, relatively well-preserved area of the meshwork of nearly orthogonal filaments from which pore complexes have been mechanically removed. Bar, 1 pm. From Aebi et al.121...

These include annexin (Minami et al., 1992 Tomas and Moss, 2003 Farnaes and Ditzel, 2003) at the nuclear envelope suggesting a role of this complex in cell division. 

The nucleus of eukaryotic cells is a very complex structure, containing various components. It is separated from the rest of the cell by two membranes named the nuclear envelope. At regular intervals, the two membranes of the nuclear envelope form pores with a diameter of around 90 nm. These pores regulate flux of macromolecules to and from the cytoplasm. Inside the nucleus is located the nucleolus, which acts to produce ribonucleic acid (RNA), which is the first step for ribosome synthesis. 

The nucleus of the eukaryotic cell is separated from the cytoplasm by the double-membrane nuclear envelope, which provides a continuous boundary between the nucleoplasm and the cytoplasm, except where it is penetrated by nuclear pores, each of which is surrounded by a disklike structure, the nuclear pore complex. These pores serve an export-import function for an exchange of materials between the nucleus and the cytosol. This is necessary in eukaryotic... 

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