Isolation of a protein that is essential for the first step of nuclear protein import

Dirk Görlich*, Siegfried Prehn, Ronald A. Laskey, Enno Hartmann

*Corresponding author for this work
558 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We have purified a cytosolic protein from Xenopus eggs that is essential for selective protein import into the cell nucleus. The purified protein, named importin, promotes signal-dependent binding of karyophilic proteins to the nuclear envelope. We have cloned, sequenced, and expressed a corresponding cDNA. Importin shows 44% sequence identity with SRP1p, a protein associated with the yeast nuclear pore complex. Complete, signal-dependent import into HeLa nuclei can be reconstituted by combining importin purified from Xenopus eggs or expressed in E. coli with Ran TC4. Evidence for additional stimulatory factors is provided.

Original languageEnglish
JournalCell
Volume79
Issue number5
Pages (from-to)767-778
Number of pages12
ISSN0092-8674
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 02.12.1994

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