Figure 1.
Structural organization of NPCs. NPCs are embedded within the NE at sites where the outer nuclear membrane (ONM) and inner nuclear membrane (INM) are fused. NPCs are bound to the pore membrane through the integral pore membrane proteins and amphipathic domains of core Nups. The core scaffold Nups can be grouped into two subcomplexes, the Nup84p- and Nup170p-subcomplexes, which bind the linker Nup Nic96. The core scaffold contains multiple binding sites for the FG-containing Nups. The FG portions of these Nups are unstructured and fill the central channel. Filaments also extend from the NPC core into both the cytoplasm (cytoplasmic filaments) and nucleoplasm (nuclear basket).