M.E. Müller Institute for Structural Biology, Biozentrum, University of Basel, Klingelbergstr. 70, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
Running title: NPC becomes alive
* authors contributedequally
corresponding author: birthe.fahrenkrog@unibas.ch; phone: +41 61 267 2255; fax: +41 61 267 2109
Abstract
In this review wesummarize the structure and function ofthe nuclearpore complex (NPC). Special emphasis isput on recent findings which reveal theNPC as a dynamic structure inthecontext of cellularevents like nucleocytoplasmic transport, celldivision anddifferentiation, stress response and apoptosis. Evidence for theinvolvement ofnucleoporins in transcription and oncogenesis is discussed, andevolutionarystrategies developed by viruses to cross the nuclear envelope arepresented.
Keywords: nucleus;nuclear pore complex;nucleocytoplasmic transport; nuclear assembly; apoptosis; rheumatoidarthritis;primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC); systemic lupus erythematosus; cancer
Eukaryotic cells in interphase are characterized by distinct nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments separated by the nuclear envelope (NE), a double membrane that is continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are large supramolecular assemblies embedded in the NE and they provide the sole gateways for molecular trafficking between the cytoplasm and nucleus of interphase eukaryotic cells. They allow passive diffusion of ions and small molecules, and facilitate receptor-mediated transport of signal bearing cargoes, such as proteins, RNAs and ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particles (Görlich and Kutay, 1999; Conti and Izaurralde, 2001; Macara, 2001; Fried and Kutay, 2003). A consensus model of the 3D architecture of the NPC has evolved from extensive electron microscopy (EM) and tomography studies in both yeast and higher eukaryotes (Unwin and Milligan, 1982; Hinshaw et al., 1992; Akey and Radermacher, 1993; Yang et al., 1998; Stoffler et al., 2003; Beck et al., 2004). Accordingly, the NPC consists of an eightfold symmetric central framework. The cytoplasmic ring moiety of the central framework is decorated with eight cytoplasmic filaments, whereas the nuclear ring moiety is topped with eight tenuous filaments that join distally into a massive distal ring and thereby form a distinct nuclear basket (Fig. 1). The overall 3D model of the NPC is conserved from yeast to higher eukaryotes, except for variations in linear dimensions among species (Fahrenkrog et al., 1998; Cohen et al., 2002; Stoffler et al., 2003).
Figure 1: 3D consensus model of the NPC.
The main structural components of the NPC include the central framework embedded in NE membrane, the cytoplasmic ring moiety and cytoplasmic filaments, the nuclear ring moiety and the nuclear basket. Figure was modelled with a visual programming environment (ViPEr) at the Scripps Research Institute (http://www.scripps.edu).
Reproduced, with permission (http://www.nature.com/nrm), from Fahrenkrog and Aebi (2003).
Based on their molecular mass of ~125 MDa (Reichelt et al., 1990) and the high degree of 822 symmetry of their central framework, it is assumed that both vertebrate and yeast NPCs are composed of multiple copies of ~30 different proteins, called nucleoporins (Nups) (Panté and Aebi, 1996; Stoffler et al., 1999; Fahrenkrog and Aebi, 2002). Up to date, ~30 yeast (Table 1) and ~26 vertebrate (Table 2) nucleoporins have been identified and characterized (Rout et al., 2000; Cronshaw et al., 2002).
Table 1: Saccharomyces cerevisiae nucleoporins
Name
Homologues
Motifs
Location
Properties and function
Snl1p (18 kDa)
−
transmembrane
NE and ER
stabilizing role in NPC structure and function
Sec13p (32 kDa)
Sec13
WD
cytoplasmic and nuclear periphery of the central pore
member of Nup84 complex; vesicular transport from ER to Golgi
Ylr018p/Pom34p
cytoplasmic and nuclear face of the NPC core
anchors NPC to the NE
Yrb2p/Nup36p
h RanBP3
FXFG Ran binding
unknown
Ran binding protein
Seh1p (39kDa)
Seh1
Gle2p (40 kDa)
Sp Rae1p
role in mRNA export
Rip1p (42 kDa)/ Nup42p
h Rip1/Rab
FG
cytoplasmic filaments; nuclear basket; nucleus
essential for export of heat shock RNA
Nup2 p (78 kDa)
Nup50
FXFG coiled coil Ran binding
nuclear; NPC
role in Srp1p/Kap60p export pathway
Nup49p
r Nup58/Nup45 Sp Nup49
GLFG coiled coil
role in protein import and RNA export
Nup53p
X MP44
FG coiled coil
role in import of ribosomal proteins; phosphorylated during mitosis
Nup57p
r Nup54 Sp Nup57
Nup59p
member of Nup170 complex;
Nup60p
FXF Ran binding
nuclear basket
tethering of Nup2 to the NPC
Gle1p (62 kDa)
h Gle1
NES
cytoplasmic filaments; cytoplasm
Npl4 (64 kDa)
degenerated repeat motifs: GSXS, GSSX, GSXF, GFXS
role in protein import, RNA export and biogenesis
Ndc1 (74 kDa)
Sp Cut11p
NPC; SPB
required for proper SPB duplication; NPC assembly?
Nup82p
Nup88
coiled coil
cytoplasmic periphery of the central pore
docking site for Nsp1-Nup159 complex; role in RNA export
Nup84p a
r Nup107
cytoplasmic filaments and nuclear periphery of the NPC
member of Nup84 complex; role in RNA export
Nup85p
Nup85
cytoplasmic and nuclear periphery of the NPC
member of Nup84 complex
Nsp1p b (86 kDa)
r, h, X Nup62
FXFG coiled coil
cytoplasmic and nuclear periphery of the central pore; nuclear basket
member of Nsp1 complex; C-terminal domain essential; role in protein import in complex with Nup82, Nic96, Nup159
Nic96p
r, h, X Nup93 Sp Npp106
anchors Nsp1complex into the NPC; N-terminal domain essential; role in NPC assembly; role in mRNA export
Nup100p
r, h, X Nup98
GLFG
biased towards cytoplasmic face of the NPC
role in nuclear protein import and mRNA export; interaction with Kap95p and Mex67p
Nup116p
C-terminus necessary for targeting and association with the NPC; role in mRNA export; recycling of Kap95p
Nup120p
Nup160
member of Nup84 complex; role in mRNA export
Nup1p (133 kDa)
C-terminus of Nup153
FXFG
role in nuclear protein import, mRNA export and NPC morphology
Nup133p
Nup133
role in mRNA export, and NPC morphology
Nup145p
C-terminus at the cytoplasmic filaments; N-terminus at the nuclear basket
In vivo cleavage; C-terminal domain is part of Nup84 complex and essential for mRNA export and NPC morphology
POM152
Nup157p
r Nup155, D Nup154
member of Nup170 complex; NPC core protein
Nup159p
Nup214
in complex with Nsp1p-Nup82p; C-terminus essential; N-terminus involved in mRNA export
Nup170pc
r Nup155
Nup188p
Nup188
Nup192p
r, h Nup205
cytoplasmic and nuclear face of the NPC core; nuclear basket filaments
Necessary for assembly of Nup49p, Nup57p, Nup82p, and Nic96 into the NPC
Mlp1p/Mlp2p
D, X, r, h, Tpr
coiled coil P/F-rich region
nuclear basket and intranuclear filaments
C-terminal of Mlp1p responsible for nuclear localization; Mlp1p prevents export of unspliced mRNAs protein import; tethering of telomers to the NPC
aNup84 complex: C-Nup145, Nup120, Nup85, Nup84, Sec13p, Seh1pbNsp1 complex: Nsp1, Nup49, Nup57, Nic96cNup170 complex: Nup188, Nup170, Nup157, Nup59
Abbreviations: D, Drosophila melanogaster; h, human; r, rat; Sp, Saccharomyces pombe; SPB, spindle pole body; X, Xenopus
For more details see references: Stoffler et al. (1999); Rout et al. (2000); Fahrenkrog et al. (2001).
Table 2: Vertebrate nucleoporins
Nup37
member of Nup107-160 complex
Sc Seh1
Sc Sec13
member of Nup107-160 complex; interacts with Nup96
RAE1
Sc Gle2p
nucleoplasmic face of NPC
in complex with Nup98 contributes to nuclear export of mRNAs
Nup45
Sc Nup49p
generated by alternative splicing of Nup58; member of Nup62 complex; role in nuclear protein import
Sc Nup2
FG, Ran binding
nucleoplasmic face of the NPC
in complex with Nup153
Nup54
Sc Nup57p
FG, PA coiled coil
member of Nup62 complex; role in nuclear protein import
ALADIN
cytoplasmic side of the NE (immunofluorescence data)
triple A syndrome
Nup58
Nup62a
Sc Nsp1p, Hv Nup62
member of Nup62 complex; role in nuclear protein import; PBC autoantibodies, in complex with CAN/Nup214
PBC68
colocalizes to mitotic spindle; involved in PBC
Sc Nup85
central pore
member of Nup107-160 complex;
r Nup84
cytoplasmic face of the NPC
C-terminal domain contains CAN/Nup214 binding site; upregulated in some tumors; in complex with CAN/Nup214
Nup93
Sc Nic96p, Sp Npp106
nuclear periphery of the central pore; nuclear basket
role in NPC assembly; in complex with Nup205/Nup188 and Nup62 complex
Nup96
Sc C-Nup145p
member of Nup107-160 complex; generated by autoproteolytic in vivo cleavage of a Nup98-Nup96 precursor; in complex with Nup98 and Nup153
Nup98
Sc Nup100p, Nup116p, and N-Nup145p
FXFG, GLFG, FG
cytoplasmic periphery of the central pore; nuclear basket and nucleus
role in export of snRNAs, 5S RNA, rRNA, and mRNA, but not tRNA; role in import and export of HIV proteins; role im AMLs; in complex with RAE1 and Nup7 complex
Nup107b
Sc Nup84p
leucine zipper
member of Nup107-160 complex; in complex with Nup98 and Nup153
POM121
FXFG, transmembrane
NPC core
anchors NPC to the NE; N-terminal domain required for nuclear targeting, N-terminal and transmembrane domain required for NPC targeting; in complex with gp210
Sc Nup133
Nup153
Sc Nup1p
FXFG, 4 (in Xenopus 5) Zn-fingers
termination site for nuclear protein import; N-terminus contains targeting and assembly information; C-terminus highly mobile; in complex with Nup107-160 complex
Nup155
D Nup154p, Sc Nup157p, and Nup170p
cytoplasmic and nuclear face of the NPC
role in mRNA export (interaction with Gle1p)
Sc Nup120
Sc Nup188
in complex with Nup205/Nup93
gp210
lumen of the NE
anchors NPC to the NE; related to autoimmune diseases; PCB autoantibodies; in complex with POM121
Nup205
Sc Nup192
in complex with Nup188/Nup93
CAN/Nup214
Nup159
FXFG, FG leucine zipper
role in nuclear protein import, mRNA export and cell cycle; involved in AMLs; in complex with Nup88 and Nup62
Tpr (265 kDa)
Sc Mlp1p, Sc Mlp2p
coiled coil, leucine zipper
C-terminus essential for nuclear import; N-terminus required for NPC association; possible role in mRNA export or recycling of transport factors; appears in oncogenic fusions with the oncogenes met, trk, and raf
RanBP2/Nup358
Ran binding, FXFG, FG, 8 Zn-fingers
cytoplasmic filaments
nucleocytoplsmic transport
aNup62 complex: Nup62, Nup58, Nup54, Nup45bNup107-160 complex: Nup160, Nup133, Nup107, Nup96, Nup85, Nup43, Nup37, Sec13, Seh1
Abbreviations: D, Drosophila melanogaster; Hv, Hydra vulgaris; r, rat; Sc, Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Sp, Saccaromyces pombe; AMLs, acute myeloid leukemias; PBC, primary biliary cirrhosis
For more details se references: Stoffler et al. (1999); Fahrenkrog and Aebi (2002); Cronshaw et al. (2002).
Precise localization ofthenucleoporins in the NPC is essential for understanding their functionsinnucleocytoplasmic transport and in NPC assembly at the molecular level.Immunolocalizationof nucleoporins using immunogold EM has shown that most nucleoporinsaresymmetrically localized at both the cytoplasmic and nuclear peripheryof theNPC and only few of them being located asymmetrically to either thecytoplasmicor nuclear periphery in both yeast and vertebrate NPC (Panté etal., 1994; Fahrenkrog et al.,1998;Rout et al., 2000; Fahrenkrog and Aebi, 2002; Cronshaw et al., 2002). Interestingly, manynucleoporins areorganized into distinct subcomplexes within the NPC structure (Finlay et al., 1991;Panté et al., 1994;Belgareh et al., 2001; Walther et al., 2003). Some of thesesubcomplexes likethe Nup107-160 complex and the Nup62 complex even stay intact duringmitosisand might represent elementar building blocks of the NPC.
Despite the conserved structural features of NPCs among different species as yeast and vertebrates there have been some reports about cell-type specific expression of certain nucleoporins (Wang et al., 1994; Hu and Gerace, 1998; Nothwang et al., 1998; Cai et al., 2002; Coy et al., 2002; Olsson et al., 2004). For example, RanBP2L1, and POMFIL1 represent cell-type specific expressed proteins with homology to the nucleoporins RanBP2/Nup358 and POM121 which are coded by different genes (Wang et al., 1994; Nothwang et al., 1998; Cai et al., 2002; Coy et al., 2002). In contrast, the differentially expressed nucleoporins Nup45 and Nup58, both constituents of the Nup62 NPC subcomplex, seem to be generated by alternative splicing from the same gene (Hu and Gerace, 1998). The most recent report concerns the restricted expression of the transmembrane nucleoporin gp210: the mRNA as well as the expressed protein seem to be specific for cultured embryonic stem cells and certain polarized epithelial cells, whereas no expression could be detected in several cultured cell lines of fibroblastic and epithelial origin (Olsson et al., 2004). This result is of special importance since there seem to be only two transmembrane nucleoporins, gp210 and POM121, to anchor the entire 125 MDa NPC to the nuclear envelope, pointing towards a crucial role for POM121 in the architectural design of this multiprotein assembly.
3.1. Nucleoporindomain flexibility and nucleoporin turnover at the NPC
Contrary to theassumption that theNPC is a rather static structure, a number of recent studies haveprovidedevidence that some of the nucleoporins are mobile within the NPC. Forexample, ithas been shown that the vertebrate nucleoporin Nup98, originallylocalized to thenuclear basket (Radu et al., 1995), can also be found onthecytoplasmic face of the NPC (Griffiset al., 2003). Nup98 can dynamicallyassociatewith the nuclear pore and shuttlebetween the NPC andintranuclearbodies and additionally between the nucleus and the cytoplasm in atranscription-dependentmanner (Zolotukhin and Felber,1999; Griffis et al.,2002 and 2004). Because Nup98 playsa role in RNAexport (Powers et al., 1997), its mobility proposesthat Nup98might associate with RNA close to its transcription site and thenfurtheraccompany the processed RNA through the NPC into the cytoplasm.
Nup153 plays a role inthe import ofproteins into the nucleus as well as in the export of RNAs and proteinsintothe cytoplasm (Bastos et al., 1996;Shah and Forbes, 1998). Nup153associated with exportcargo shuttles between the nuclear and cytoplasmic faces of the NPC (Nakielny et al., 1999). Initially thevertebrate Nup153had been localized to the distal ring of the nuclear basket (Panté etal., 1994) and close to or at thenuclear ringof the NPC (Walther et al., 2001). Immunogold EM withdomain-specificantibodies against Nup153, in combination with recombinantly expressedepitope-tagged Nup153 in the Xenopusoocytes,has revealed a domain-specific topology within the NPC (Fahrenkrog et al., 2002). Nup153 seems to beanchoredthrough its N-terminal domain to the nuclear ring moiety and itscentralZn-finger domain to the distal ring of the NPC. By contrast, theC-terminaldomain which harbors ~40 FG repeats (about 700 amino acids), appears tobehighly mobile, as it has been localized throughout the nuclear basketand evenat the cytoplasmic periphery of the central pore of the NPC (Fig.2; Fahrenkrog et al. (2002and2004); Fahrenkrogand Aebi (2003)). In their native stateFG-repeatsare unfolded and highly unstructured (Baylisset al., 2000; Allen et al., 2002;Denning et al., 2002 and 2003) sothat theC-terminal domain of Nup153 could extend up to ~200 nmif completely stretched out, meaning that the C-terminal domain canreach allthe way from the distal ring of the nuclear basket through the centralporeinto the cytoplasmic periphery of the NPC. This high mobility andstructuralflexibility of the FG repeats which act as binding/docking sites forcargocomplexes might significantly increase the efficiency of cargotranslocationthrough the NPC.
Figure 2: Localization of the N-terminal, Zn-finger, and C-terminal domain of Nup153 in the 3D architecture of the NPC.
(a) Shown are a crosssectioned NE stretch with labeled NPCs, together with a gallery of selected examples of gold-labeled NPC in cross sections. c, cytoplasm; n, nucleus. Scale bars: 100 nm
(b) Stereo images of selected examples of the nuclear face of Xenopus oocyte NPCs labeled with colloidal gold-tagged domain-specific anti-Nup153 antibodies. Scale bars: 50 nm.
(c) Schematic representation of the epitope distribution using domain-specific antibodies against Nup153 and epitope-tagged His–Nup153–myc that had been incorporated into Xenopus NPCs. The N-terminal (red) and Zn-finger (blue) domains of Nup153 have a stationary location at the nuclear ring moiety and the distal ring, respectively. The C-terminal, FG-repeat domain (yellow) of Nup153 is highly flexible and mobile and can be mapped to the nuclear ring moiety (left), the distal ring (middle) and even the cytoplasmic periphery (right) of the central pore.
“Part a and b was modified and reprinted from J. Struct. Biol. 140, Fahrenkrog et al.: Domain-specific antibodies reveal multiple-site topology of Nup153 within the nuclear pore complex, 254-267, © (2002), with permission from Elsevier” and part c reproduced, with permission (http://www.nature.com/nrm), from Fahrenkrog and Aebi (2003).
In addition to this structural flexibility, the association of Nup153 with the NPC exhibits remarkable dynamics: fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) experiments have demonstrated that on average Nup153 stays associated with the NPC for no longer than about 40 seconds (Daigle et al., 2001; Griffis et al., 2004; for an overview of the turn over times of individual Nups at the NPC see Rabut et al., 2004a). This is interesting since Nup153 has been documented to be crucial for the formation of structurally intact NPCs. If nuclear envelopes are assembled in vitro from meiotic Xenopus laevis egg extracts depletion of Nup153 from this extract abolishes the incorporation of Tpr, Nup93 and Nup98 into the NPCs (Walther et al., 2001). In an attempt to combine these two findings into a model, two distinct Nup153 pools have been proposed to co-exist at the NPC: a stably associated one which has an architectural function, and a dynamic one exhibiting a high turnover rate (Griffis et al., 2004). Further investigations revealed that similar to Nup98, the mobility of Nup153 is also governed by transcriptional activity, in a way that transcription decreases the dissociation rate from the NPC by a factor of 10 so that a considerable amount of either protein does not exchange any more, i.e. stably associated with the NPC (Griffis et al., 2004). Dissection of Nup98 and Nup153 demonstrated that RNA polymerase I and RNA polymerase II exert distinct effects on the mobility of these two nucleoporins via distinct domains within the two proteins. As might be expected, these domains are the respective NPC interacting domains that have been described previously (Griffis et al., 2004). However, as yet nothing is known about the mediators of this transcription-dependent mobility nor about the exact molecular modifications of Nup98 and Nup153 that are responsible for their mobile behaviour.
3.2. Mitosis, cellular stress and apoptosis
Another aspect of NPC dynamics is revealed by the fact that the NE of higher eukaryotes disintegrates and NPCs disassemble into distinct subcomplexes during mitosis. Although the functional significance of this mitotic disassembly of NPCs is not known, the molecular mechanism leading to this phenomenon appears to be governed by the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of nucleoporins as has been shown for the transmembrane nucleoporin gp210, as well as for Nup62, Nup153, CAN/Nup214 and RanBP2/Nup358 (Macaulay et al., 1995; Favreau et al., 1996). Examples of nucleoporin subcomplexes that stay intact during mitosis are the Nup107-160 subcomplex, the Nup62 complex, and the CAN/Nup88 subcomplex (Macaulay et al., 1995; Bodoor et al., 1999; Matsuoka et al., 1999; Belgareh et al., 2001). Towards the end of anaphase, NPCs sequentially reassemble around chromatin, and while one would expect this process to be initiated by transmembrane nucleoporins, there are also indications that the association of the Nup107-160 complex with chromatin might be the first step in the reassembly of the NPC after mitosis (Fig. 3; Walther et al. (2003); see also Bodoor et al. (1999)). In the near future the use of defined biochemical fractions or even recombinantly expressed nucleoporins in combination with in vitro assembly reactions and ultrastructural analysis by TEM and SEM will yield further insights into the distinct assembly steps that eventually yield functional NPCs (Finlay et al., 1991; Walther et al., 2001, 2002 and 2003; Liu et al., 2003).
Late Anaphase
Telophase
Telo/G1
Nup62 complex
Nup107-160 complex
Nup84
Tpr
Pom121
Figure 3: Schematic representation of the appearance of nucleoporins at the nuclear periphery towards the end of mitosis.
The diagram summarizes results from immunofluorescence staining and GFP-labeling experiments. (accoding to Bodoor et al., 1999; Daigle et al., 2001; Walther et al., 2003). The Nup62 complex consists of the nucleoporins Nup62, Nup58, Nup54 and Nup45 with cell type specific variations (Hu et al., 1996). The Nup107-160 complex is a huge NPC subcomplex which accounts for nearly one third of the NPCs total mass and is assembled from at least nine different proteins Nup160 (hNup120), Nup133, Nup107, Nup96, Nup85 (Nup75), Nup43, Nup37, Seh1 and Sec13 (Loïodice et al., 2004).
In addition to this reassembly after mitosis, a second mechanism for the de novo formation of NPCs in pre-existing nuclear membranes must take place in lower eukaryotes that go through closed mitosis and therefore never disassemble their NEs. Furthermore, morphometric analysis and FRAP experiments on cells cultured from higher eukaryotes demonstrate that NPCs can also assemble into preformed NEs (Maul et al., 1972; Winey et al., 1997; Daigle et al., 2001). Hence, here we have the interesting situation that two distinct molecular events lead to the formation the same large supramolecular assembly (see also Rabut et al., 2004b). Finally, it should be mentioned that NPCs and nucleoporins might play a more active role in the progression of mitosis than believed earlier. To this end, it has been shown that the giant nucleoporin RanBP2/Nup358 plays an important role in mitotic progression and that the RanGAP1-RanBP2 complex is essential for microtubule-kinetochore interactions during mitosis (Salina et al., 2003; Joseph et al., 2004). Moreover, the Nup107-160 complex localizes in part to kinetochores during mitosis, and depletion of some members of the homologous complexes in yeast and C. elegans leads to defects in cell division (Galy et al., 2003; Baï et al., 2004; Loïodice et al., 2004).
As mentioned above,yeasts and otherlower eukaryotes undergo a closed mitosis so that their NEs and NPCsstayintact during this process. Recently however, it could be shown thateven inthese cells NPCs exhibit cell cycle-dependent dynamics. For example,the yeastnucleoporin Nup53p is associated with Nup170p during interphase butfollowingchanges at the onset of mitosis it becomes associated with anothernucleoporin,Nic96p (Makhnevych et al., 2003). This change presumablyleads to theexposure of a binding site for the transport factor Kap121p, whichafter associationwith Nic96p, prematurely releases its cargo and thereby preventsefficientnuclear import. Hence, this is a good example how physiological changesinnuclear transport activity can be regulated at the level of NPCarchitecture. Stress-inducedstructural reorganization of NPCs in yeast cells and the proteolyticbreakdown ofcertain nucleoporins during apoptosis in higher eukaryotes are furtherexamplesof dynamic NPC modifications (Ferrando-Mayet al., 2001; Shulga and Goldfarb,2003; Kihlmark et al., 2004; Loïodice et al., 2004). In yeast, for example,an increasein NPC permeability is observed under certain stress situations such ashighconcentrations of aliphatic alcohols, the presence of deoxyglucose, orduringchilling of the yeast cultures (Shulgaand Goldfarb, 2003). If yeast cellsdepleted of the nucleoporinNup170p are treated with increasing concentrations of certain alcohols,dissociationof several other nucleoporins, both centrally and peripherally locatedones, isobserved. Whilst no dissociation of any nucleoporin was observed inwild-typecells, the above mentioned results still may be taken as an indicatorforrearrangements occurring in NPC architecture following stress treatmentof the yeastcells (Shulga and Goldfarb,2003).
One hallmark ofapoptotic cells isthe condensation of their chromatin followed by the fragmentation oftheir DNA.Recent studies investigated the question of a possible link betweentheseapoptotic features and changes in the structure and function of NPCs (Ferrando-May et al.,2001; Kihlmark et al.,2004; Loïodice et al., 2004).During apoptosis nucleoporins aresequentially cleaved, amongst the first ones being the transmembranenucleoporin POM121 and RanBP2/Nup358, followed by Nup153, Nup62 and theNE-associatedlamins. Concomitant with these later steps clustering of the NPCs isobserved,while an increased permeability of the nucleus, the redistribution ofnucleartransport factors and the nuclear accumulation of mRNAs are hallmarksofearlier stages of apoptosis (Ferrando-Mayet al., 2001; Kihlmark et al.,2004; Loïodice et al., 2004).To date, the debate is still onwhether these observed changes in NPC architecture and nucleartransport are causallylinked to the later apoptotic program occurring in the nucleus.
Whereas ions and small molecules move in and out of the nucleus by passive diffusion, transport of proteins, RNAs, ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs), and ribosomal subunits is an energy-dependent and receptor-mediated process. Because many excellent reviews about nucleocytoplasmic transport have been published in the last few years (c.f. Corbett and Silver, 1997; Mattaj and Englmeier, 1998; Görlich and Kutay, 1999; Kaffman and O'Shea, 1999; Conti and Izaurralde, 2001; Komeili and O'Shea, 2001; Macara, 2001; Weis, 2002; Quimby and Dasso, 2003; Fried and Kutay, 2003; Johnson et al., 2004; Xu and Massagué, 2004), we describe here only the best characterized classical receptor-mediated nucleocytoplasmic transport (Fig. 4a). Accordingly, cargo to be transported in or out of the nucleus harbors a nuclear localization signal (NLS) for nuclear import or a nuclear export signal (NES) for nuclear export. NLS and NES are recognized by soluble transport receptors known as importins and exportins, also called karyopherins. These receptors facilitate transport through the NPC by interaction with FG repeats that many nucleoporins harbor. The key regulator of the directionality of nucleocytoplasmic transport is Ran, a member of the Ras-related GTPase superfamily, by switching between its GDP- and GTP-bound form. The nucleotide exchange factor, RanGEF (or RCCI) is bound to DNA and facilitates RanGTP formation in the nucleus, whereas the GTPase activating protein, RanGAP, that is excluded from the nucleus, assures depletion of the cytoplasm of RanGTP in combination with Ran binding protein RanBP1 and RanBP2. Hence, interaction of Ran with its compartmentalized regulatory proteins RanGEF and RanGAP generates a gradient across the NE with a high RanGTP concentration in the nucleus and a low level in the cytoplasm, and vice versa for RanGDP (Fig. 4b).
Figure 4: Scheme of import (left) and export (right) of proteins (a) and control of the nucleocytoplasmic transport by Ran (b).
(b) Directionality of the nucleocytoplasmic transport by the RanGTPase system. Chromatin-bound RCC1 is the nucleotide exchange factor for Ran (RanGEF) and promotes exchange from RanGDP to RanGTP. This results in a high concentration of RanGTP in the nucleus. After translocation of importin-RanGTP complex back to the cytoplasm, RanGTP becomes hydrolyzed by cooperation of RanGTP-binding proteins (RanBP1 and RanBP2) and Ran GTPase-activating protein (RanGAP). This prevents the accumulation of RanGTP and results in its low concentration in the cytoplasm.
NPCs via thenucleoporins have beenimplicated in several malignancies such as leukemias and otherscancers, aswell as in certain autoimmune diseases. Furthermore, as gatewaysbetween thecytoplasm and the nucleus they also play a pivotal role in viralinfections.
Several autoimmunediseases arecaused by autoantibodies recognizing nuclear antigens resulting in suchdiversillnesses as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis andprimarybiliary cirrhosis (PBC). Anti-NPC autoantibodies identified so farreact withthe nucleoporins Nup62, Nup153, Tpr, Nup358/RanBP2 and thetransmembranenucleoporin gp210 (reviewed in Nesheret al., 2001; Enarson et al., 2004).The epitopes of several of theseantibodies have been mapped but the exact mode of action is unknown.Often,these anti-nucleoporin antibodies co-exist with other autoantibodies sothattheir relevance for disease progression is unclear. Interestingly,anti-gp210autoantibodies are often found in PBC which are negative foranti-mitochondrialantibodies which gives them a potential diagnostic relevance. Inaddition,these antibodies are often associated with more severe forms of thediseasethus also being a possible prognostic marker.
Nucleoporins are involved in several cases of acute myeloid leukemia and a few other hematological malignancies as well as rare cases of other tumors (Table 3) (Cronshaw and Matunis, 2004). For Nup88, its overexpression is associated with malignant tumors (Gould et al., 2000 and 2002; Emterling et al., 2003; Agudo et al., 2004), whereas in most other cases the role of Nups in tumorigenesis stems from chromosomal rearrangements that result in oncogenic fusion proteins. With the exception of the RanBP2/Nup358-ALK fusion protein which localizes to the NPC, in all other known examples the oncogenic fusion protein does not involve the NPC-interacting domain(s) of the nucleoporin and thus is no longer associated with the NPC. The most common oncogenic fusions involve a segment of the gene encoding the FG-repeat domain of the nucleoporin Nup98 which, in turn, becomes linked to genes of the homeobox family of transcription factors. It was found that the Nup98 derived FG-repeat segments of the resulting oncogene interact with the transcriptional coactivators CBP (CREB binding protein) and p300 thereby leading to increased gene transcription (Kasper et al., 1999). Interestingly, FG-repeat segments of two other nucleoporins, Nup153 and CAN/Nup214, could substitute for the Nup98 segment in the oncogenic fusion protein (Kasper et al., 1999). It will be interesting to see if there is a link between this observed transactivation activity and the previously mentioned transcription-dependent mobility of Nup98 within the nucleus and at the NPC. Similarly, leukemias involving CAN/Nup214 chromosomal translocations, the FG-repeat domain of this nucleoporin gets fused to the DNA-binding proteins SET and DEK (von Lindern et al., 1992a and 1992b). In the case of chromosomal rearrangements involving the nucleoporin Tpr, the N-terminal coiled-coil domain of this protein is fused to the protein kinases MET, RAF and TRK and thereby yielding oncogenic dimerization of these kinases (Hays and Watowich, 2003).
Table 3: Oncogenic nucleoporin chromosal rearrangements
Rearrangement
Nucleoporin/partner gene
Partner gene features
Disease
t(7;11)(p15;p15)
NUP98/HOXA9
Homeodomain
AML, CML, MDS, MDS/AML
t(2;11)(q31;p15)
NUP98/HOXD13
AML, MDS/AML
t(1;11)(q23;p15)
NUP98/PMX1
MDS/AML
NUP98/HOXA11
CML, AML
t(11;12)(p15;q13)
NUP98/HOXC11
AML
NUP98/HOXA13
NUP98/HOXD11
NUP98/HOXC13
inv11(p15;q22)
NUP98/DDX10
RNA helicase
t(11;20)(p15;q11)
NUP98/TOP1
DNA topoisomerase
t(4;11)(q21;p15)
NUP98/RAP1GDS1
Nucleotide exchange factor
T-ALL
t(9;11)(p22;p15)
NUP98/LEDGF
Transcription factors
t(5;11)(q35;p15)
NUP98/NSD1
SET domain
t(8;11)(p11.2;p15)
NUP98/NSD3
t(6;9)(p23;q34)
NUP214/DEK
DNA binding
AML, MDS
t(9;9)(q34;q34)
NUP214/SET
Nuclear, DNA associated (?)
t(1;7)(q25;q21-31)
TPR/MET
Protein kinase
Osteosarcoma
Tpr/RAF
TPR/RAF
Adenocarcinoma, fibroblastoma
Inv(1q)
TPR/TRK
Papillary thyroid carcinoma
t(2;2)(p23;q13)
NUP358/ALK
IMT
Summary of oncogenic chromosomal rearrangements involving nucleoporin genes. Given are the involved nucleoporin genes and the fusion partner as well as its function and the resulting disease. Most known examples of chromosomal rearrangements involve the nucleoporin Nup98, others the nucleoporins CAN/Nup214, Tpr and RanBP2/Nup358. For references on the individual oncogenes see Cronshaw and Matunis (2004).
Abbreviations: AML, acute myeloid leukemia; CML, chronic myeloid leukemia; IMT, inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor; MDS, myelodysplastic syndrome; SET,Su(var)3-9, enhancer-of-zeste, trithorax; T-ALL, T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
“Reprinted from Trends Endocrinol. Metab. 15, Cronshaw and Matunis: The nuclear pore complex: disease associations and functional correlations, 34-39, © (2004), with permission from Elsevier”
Significant progress hasbeenachieved in recent years in the elucidation of the mechanisms thatviruses useto deliver their genetic material to the nucleus for replication (Fig. 5;reviewed in Greberand Fassati (2003) and Gustin (2003)). After fusion at theplasmamembrane or endocytotic uptake the virus particles are in the cytoplasmwherethey encounter different fates. The problem for entry of the geneticmaterialinto the nuclear compartment is the limited diameter of the NPC. Recentexperiments employing protein covered colloidal gold particles showedthat objectsup to 39 nm diameter are able to travers the NPC (Panté andKann, 2002). Thus smaller viruseslike theparvovirus MVM (minute virus of mouse, 25 nm capsid diameter) or HBV(hepatitisB virus, 32-36 nm capsid diameter) are able to cross the NPC withoutthe needfor capsid disassembly. Invivo in thecase of HBV, however, passage through the NPC is facilitated by thephosphorylation of HBV capsids during maturation which makes nuclearlocalization signals accessible for the nuclear transport receptorsimportin-αand -β (Rabe et al., 2003). After passage throughthe centralpore of the NPC virus particles then reach the nuclear basket whereimmaturecapsids are apparently trapped, whereas capsid protein and DNA frommaturedviruses are released into the nucleoplasm (Fig.5a and 6; Rabe et al. (2003)).
In contrast to the situation for HBV, herpes simplex virus (HSV, 125 nm capsid diameter) or adenovirus particles (90 nm diameter) in the cytoplasm are too large to travers the NPC. In a first step these virus particles dock at the cytoplasmic side of the NPC. This docking of HSV particles at the NPC is dependent on the presence of importin-β, whereas adenovirus capsids directly associate with the cytoplasmically localized nucleoporin CAN/Nup214 (Wisnivesky et al., 1999; Ojala et al., 2000; Trotman et al., 2001). HSV then releases its DNA through the NPC into the nucleoplasm, whereas adenovirus particles first trap cytosolic factors like Hsc70, together with histone H1 and transport factors which are necessary for the subsequent capsid disassembly prior to viral DNA-translocation into the nucleus (Fig. 5b and c; Trotman et al. (2001)).
Figure 5: Schematic representation of different strategies for nuclear import of viral genomes.
Cytosolic capsids mediate the nuclear import of the viral genomes by at least three different mechanisms: (a) importin α- and β-mediated nuclear import of whole capsids; (b) importin β- mediated docking at the NPC and DNA injection into the nucleus, and (c) direct docking and disassembly at the NPC.
(a) Parvoviruses and HBV have a diameter close to the physical opening of the central pore of the NPC. In the cytoplasm, capsids undergo conformational changes leading to exposure of the NLSs and subsequent interaction with importins. The small capsid size allows the translocation of whole viral capsids through the NPC into the nucleus where the capsids are disassembled by a still unknown mechanism.
(b) Tegument-free capsid of the HSV docks at cytoplasmic filaments of the NPC via importin β. Capsids are not completely disassembled, but partially opened and the linear double-strand DNA genome is injected to the nucleus.
(c) Partially uncoated and fiberless capsids of adenoviruses are delivered to the NPC where they directly dock to the FG repeats of Nup214/CAN at the cytoplasmic filaments of the NPC. Subsequently series of disassembly factors are activated which facilitate capsid disassembly and are required for import of the viral DNA-protein core.
Figure 6: Maturation-dependent nuclear entry of HBV capsids.
(a) Localization of hepatitis B capsids in digitonin-permeabilized HuH-7cells by confocal laser scanning microscopy after immunofluorescence labeling. Capsids (green, Left) and NPCs (red, Center) were stained by indirect immunofluorescence. Merged images are shown in the last column (Right). Recombinant capsids, devoid of viral polymerase (P-C) do not bind to cellular structures, immature capsids (ImmatC) show nuclear binding, whereas mature capsids (MatC) generate intranuclear capsids. Scale bar: 10 µm.
(b) Views of nuclear envelope cross sections with adjacent cytoplasm (c) and nucleoplasm (n) from a Xenopus laevis oocyte that has been microinjected with ImmatC. Arrowheads point to capsids associated with the nuclear face of the NPC. Scale bar: 100 nm.
“Fig was modified and reprinted from Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100, Rabe et al.: Nuclear import of hepatitis B virus capsids and release of the viral genome, 9849-9854, © (2003), with permission from National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A."
Certain RNA viruses likepicornaviruses (e.g.poliovirus or rhinovirus)and rhabdoviruses replicate in the cytoplasm of host cells and thus donot haveto cross the NE. However also in cells infected with these viruses, NPCstructure and nucleocytplasmic transport are often severely disturbed (Gustin, 2003).It has been shown that theinfection of cells with polioviruses or rhinoviruses results in thecytoplasmicaccumulation of certain nuclear proteins like La, Sam68 or nucleolinwhich theninteract with the viral RNA and might aid in their replication. This isachieved by inhibiting active nucleocytoplasmic transport via theproteolyticdegradation of nucleoporins like Nup62 and CAN/Nup214 (and possiblyothers aswell) (Gustin and Sarnow, 2001and2002). Another strategy isused bythevesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). Its most abundant virion component,the Mprotein, causes cell rounding, inhibits transcription and also blocksnuclearexport of U snRNAs, rRNAs and mRNAs as well as snRNP and classicalnuclearimport. As one cellular protein interacting with M protein thenucleoporinNup98 could be identified which binds transport receptors and has beenshown tobe crucial for nuclear export of mRNAs (von Kobbe et al., 2000).Interestingly during antiviralresponse via interferon signaling Nup98 gets upregulated and thisupregulationreleases the M protein induced mRNA export block (Enninga et al., 2002).
Already by 1985 a“gene-gating”hypothesis was proposed (Blobel,1985) suggesting aninteraction oftheNPC with genes as a means of transcriptional regulation. In recentyearsexperimental evidence for such interactions arised from studies inyeast. Inthis context, the interaction of telomeric chromatin with the NPC,especiallyNup145C, Nup60p, Mlp1p and Mlp2p result in transcriptional silencing (Feuerbach et al., 2002), whereas tethering ofchromosomesto the nucleoporin Nup2p lead to a block in heterochromatin spreading,i.e.Nup2p exhibits chromatin boundary activity, thus leading to geneactivation (Ishii et al., 2002). In the most recentreport genesinteracting with several nucleoporins and transport factors wereidentified (Casolari et al., 2004). This was achieved bychromatinimmunoprecipitation using certain nucleoporins and transport factors asbaitsand analysis of the precipitated gene sequences by microarrayhybridizationanalysis (Casolari et al., 2004). It turned out thatmore frequentlytranscribed genes were clearly associated with certain nucleoporins(amongstothers Mlp1p, Mlp2p, Nup2p and Nup60p) and transport factors, whereastheRanGEF Prp20p was found to interact mainly with infrequentlytranscribed genes(Fig. 7).Future in vivochromosomalpainting andnucleoporin labeling studies together with high resolution lightmicroscopyunder gene inducing conditions will clarify the significance of theseobservations.
In this review we have described the involvement of the NPC in various physiological events and hope to leave the reader with a dynamic impression of that complex and fascinating structure.
The interaction of several nucleoporins and transport factors with genomic sequences was analyzed by chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by microarray-anlysis of the bound sequences in comparison to whole-cell extract signals. Each blue diamond indicates an individual spot on the microarray (i.e. an individual gene) where the position on the x-axis is determined by the ratio (bound copies of a gene):(copies of a gene in the whole cell culture extract) and the position on the y-axis gives the experimentally determined transcriptional frequency for that gene (see Damelin and Silver (2002), Casolari et al. (2004) and references therein). (a) diamonds represent individual genes interacting with Nic96p whereas the the coloured curves give the overall binding trends for the indicated nucleoporins and transport factors. (b) diamonds represent individual genes interacting with Nup100p whereas the the coloured curves give the overall trends for the indicated nucleoporins. (c) diamonds represent individual genes interacting with the RanGDP exchange factor Prp20, the general trend is represented by the purple curve.
Acknowledgements:
This work was supportedby the Human Frontier ScienceProgram (U.A), bythe Swiss National Science Foundation (B.F.), and by the NationalCenter ofCompetence in Research (NCCR) program “NanoscaleScience”(UA). Additionalfunds were provided by the Maurice E. Müller Foundation and bytheKanton BaselStadt.
Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology
The nuclear pore complex becomes alive: new insights into its dynamics and involvement in different cellular processes
Online version: http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/deep-insight/20048/the-nuclear-pore-complex-becomes-alive-new-insights-into-its-dynamics-and-involvement-in-different-cellular-processes