Nanoscale Hydrophobicity of Transport Barriers in the Nuclear Pore Complex as Compared with the Liquid/Liquid Interface by Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy.

ABSTRACT: The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is the proteinous nanopore that solely regulates molecular transport between the nucleus and cytoplasm of a eukaryotic cell. Hypothetically, the NPC utilizes the hydrophobic barriers based on the repeats of phenylalanine-glycine (FG) units to selectively and efficiently transport macromolecules. Herein, we quantitatively assess the hydrophobicity of transport barriers confined in the nanopore by applying scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). The hypothesis deduced from studies of isolated FG-rich nucleoporins is supported quantitatively by investigating the authentic NPC for the first time. Specifically, we employ the n repeats of neurotoxic glycine-arginine dipeptide, GR_n, as the molecular probes that engage in hydrophobic inte

SUBMITTER: Huang SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11822746 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature