title: Structure Determination of the Nuclear Pore Complex with Three-Dimensional Cryo electron Microscopy.
abstract: Determining the structure of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) imposes an enormous challenge due to its size, intricate composition and membrane-embedded nature. In vertebrates, about 1000 protein building blocks assemble into a 110-MDa complex that fuses the inner and outer membranes of a cell's nucleus. Here, we review the recent progress in understanding the in situ architecture of the NPC with a specific focus on approaches using three-dimensional cryo electron microscopy. We discuss technological benefits and limitations and give an outlook toward obtaining a high-resolution structure of the NPC.
authors.affiliation: European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Structural and Computational Biology Unit, Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: von Appen
authors.affiliation: European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Structural and Computational Biology Unit, Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: martin.beck@embl.de.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beck
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020285:Cryoelectron Microscopy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008566:Membranes / Q000502:physiology; D022022:Nuclear Pore / Q000502:physiology*; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000502:physiology
keywords: cryoelectron microscopy; nuclear pore complex