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Updated: Jul 30, 2026

Spatio-Temporal Manipulation of Small GTPase Activity at Subcellular Level and on Timescale of Seconds in Living Cells
Published on: March 9, 2012
Ran GTPase: a master regulator of nuclear structure and function during the eukaryotic cell division cycle?
1Biomedical Research Centre, Level 5, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, DD1 9SY, Dundee, UK. p.clarke@icrf.icnet.uk
Abstract:
Ran is an abundant GTPase that is highly conserved in eukaryotic cells and has been implicated in many aspects of nuclear structure and function, especially determining the directionality of nucleocytoplasmic transport during interphase. However, cell-free systems have recently shown that Ran plays distinct roles in mitotic spindle assembly and nuclear envelope (NE) formation in vitro. During spindle assembly, Ran controls the formation of complexes with importins, the same effectors that control nucleocytoplasmic transport. Here, we review these advances and discuss a general model for Ran in the coordination of nuclear processes throughout the cell division cycle via common biochemical mechanisms.
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