Structure and Function of the Nuclear Pore Complex Revealed by High-Resolution Fluorescence Microscopy

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are large macromolecular gateways that serve to regulate the transport of various molecules to and from the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. NPCs mediate the nuclear export of key endogenous cargoes such as mRNA, and pre-ribosomal subunits as well as allow for the nuclear import of nuclear proteins. Remarkably, other particles that are not qualified for nucleocytoplasmic transport are blocked from transport. Recently, advances in fluorescence microscopy enable live-cell and/or real-time detection of the structure and function of NPCs with high spatial and temporal resolutions. This chapter serves to summarize the advances in fluorescence microscopy techniques that have been applied to study NPC structure as well as the nucleocytoplasmic transport mechanism.