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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Characterization of Membrane Transporters by Heterologous Expression in E. coli and Production of Membrane Vesicles
Published on: December 31, 2019
Molecular basis for the recognition of snurportin 1 by importin beta
Gregory Mitrousis1, Adam S Olia, Nancy Walker-Kopp
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York 13210, USA.
Abstract:
The nuclear import of uridine-rich ribonucleoproteins is mediated by the transport adaptor snurportin 1 (SNP1). Similar to importin alpha, SNP1 uses an N-terminal importin beta binding (sIBB) domain to recruit the receptor importin beta and gain access to the nucleus. In this study, we demonstrate that the sIBB domain has a bipartite nature, which contains two distinct binding determinants for importin beta. The first determinant spans residues 25-65 and includes the previously identified importin alpha IBB (alphaIBB) region of homology. The second binding determinant encompasses residues 1-24 and resembles region 1011-1035 of the nucleoporin 153 (Nup153). The two binding determinants synergize within the sIBB domain to confer a low nanomolar binding affinity for importin beta (K(d) approximately 2 nm) in an interaction that, in vitro, is displaced by RanGTP. We propose that in vivo the synergy of Nup153 and nuclear RanGTP promotes translocation of uridine-rich ribonucleoproteins into the nucleus.
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