Efficiency, Selectivity, and Robustness of Nucleocytoplasmic Transport
Figure 1
Main Features of the NPC and of Nuclear Import
(A) Schematic of the nuclear import process. The karyopherins bind the cargo in the cytoplasm and transport it to the nucleus, where the cargo is released by RanGTP.
(B) Schematic of the NPC. The nucleus and the cytoplasm are connected by a channel, which is filled with flexible, mobile filamentous proteins termed FG nups. The karyopherins carrying a cargo enter from the cytoplasm and hop between the binding sites on the FG nups until they either reach the nuclear side of the NPC or return to the cytoplasm.