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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Comparative Strategies for Ubiquitination Detection in Mammalian Cell Lysates Using SMAD2/SMURF2 as a Model
Published on: April 17, 2026
Nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of Smad proteins
1Laboratory of Developmental Signalling, Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PX, UK. caroline.hill@cancer.org.uk
Abstract:
Nuclear accumulation of active Smad complexes is crucial for transduction of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta)-superfamily signals from transmembrane receptors into the nucleus. It is now clear that the nucleocytoplasmic distributions of Smads, in both the absence and the presence of a TGF-beta-superfamily signal, are not static, but instead the Smads are continuously shuttling between the nucleus and the cytoplasm in both conditions. This article presents the evidence for continuous nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of Smads. It then reviews different mechanisms that have been proposed to mediate Smad nuclear import and export, and discusses how the Smad steady-state distributions in the absence and the presence of a TGF-beta-superfamily signal are established. Finally, the biological relevance of continuous nucleocytoplasmic shuttling for signaling by TGF-beta superfamily members is discussed.
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