title: The Ran GTPase as a marker of chromosome position in spindle formation and nuclear envelope assembly.
abstract: The small GTPase Ran is a key regulator of nucleocytoplasmic transport during interphase. The asymmetric distribution of the GTP-bound form of Ran across the nuclear envelope--that is, large quantities in the nucleus compared with small quantities in the cytoplasm--determines the directionality of many nuclear transport processes. Recent findings that Ran also functions in spindle formation and nuclear envelope assembly during mitosis suggest that Ran has a general role in chromatin-centred processes. Ran functions in these events as a signal for chromosome position.
authors.affiliation: European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hetzer
authors.forename: Oliver J
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Gruss
authors.forename: Iain W
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Mattaj
mesh_terms: D021581:Active Transport, Cell Nucleus / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009685:Nuclear Envelope / Q000502:physiology*; D008941:Spindle Apparatus / Q000502:physiology*; D020931:ran GTP-Binding Protein / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate; D020931:ran GTP-Binding Protein