Roles of the nucleoporin Tpr in cancer and aging

Tpr is a prominent architectural component of the nuclear pore complex that forms the basket-like structure on the nucleoplasmic side of the pore. Tpr, which stands for translocated promoter region, was originally described in the context of oncogenic fusions with the receptor tyrosine kinases Met, TRK, and Raf. Tpr has been since implicated in a variety of nuclear functions, including nuclear transport, chromatin organization, regulation of transcription, and mitosis. More recently, Tpr function has been linked to events including p53 signaling and premature aging in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS). Here we provide an overview of the various processes that involve Tpr, and discuss how the levels and localization of a single protein can affect diverse pathways in the cell.