Ion channels in the nuclear envelope

CELL nuclei are capable of partitioning a wide variety of molecules from the cytosol, including macromolecules such as proteins 1–11 and RNA 12–14 , and smaller peptides 9,14–16 , amino acids 17 , sugars 18,19 and Na + and K + ions 20,21 , all of which can be accumulated in or excluded from the nucl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1990-02, Vol.343 (6260), p.764-767
Main Authors: Mazzanti, Michele, DeFelice, Louis J, Cohen, Jacques, Malter, Henry
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acids
Anatomy & physiology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Cell division
Cell physiology
Cellular biology
Conductance
Electric Conductivity
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gene expression
Histograms
Humanities and Social Sciences
Ion channels
letter
Medical research
Membrane and intracellular transports
Membrane potential
Membrane Potentials
Mice
Molecular and cellular biology
Molecules
multidisciplinary
Nuclear Envelope - physiology
Nuclear Envelope - ultrastructure
Nuclei
Nuclei (cytology)
Peptides
potassium
Potassium Channels - physiology
Potassium chloride
Resistance
Sarcoplasmic reticulum
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum - physiology
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Sodium chloride
spermatozoa
Zygote - ultrastructure
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Summary:CELL nuclei are capable of partitioning a wide variety of molecules from the cytosol, including macromolecules such as proteins 1–11 and RNA 12–14 , and smaller peptides 9,14–16 , amino acids 17 , sugars 18,19 and Na + and K + ions 20,21 , all of which can be accumulated in or excluded from the nuclear domain. There are two mechanisms behind this compartmentalization: selective retention of freely diffusible molecules, and selective entry through the nuclear envelope. It is generally accepted that the nuclear envelope restricts only the larger molecules 22–24 . Here we apply the patch-clamp technique to isolated murine pronuclei 25 and show that the nuclear envelope contains K + -selective channels which have multiple conductance states, the maximal conductance being 200 pS. These channels, which contribute to the nuclear membrane potential 26 , may be important in balancing the charge carried by the movement of macromolecules in and out of the nucleus.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/343764a0