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Nanomechanical interactions of phenylalanine-glycine nucleoporins studied by single molecule force-volume spectroscopy

Lim, R. Y. H. and Koser, J. and Huang, N. -P. and Schwarz-Herion, K. and Aebi, U.. (2007) Nanomechanical interactions of phenylalanine-glycine nucleoporins studied by single molecule force-volume spectroscopy. Journal of Structural Biology, Vol. 159, H. 2. pp. 277-289.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5259688

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Abstract

Phenylalanine-glycine (FG)-repeat nucleoporins (Nups) form the major components of the selective gating mechanism in the nuclear pore complex (NPC). Hence, a primary requirement is to understand how they vacillate between preventing the access of passively diffusing molecules and promoting the translocation of receptor-bound cargo into the NPC. To shed light on such behavior, we have studied the nanomechanical properties of a cysteine-modified FG-rich C-terminal domain of hNup153 (i.e., cNup153) and its interactions with importin-beta. This is carried out using single molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) with the atomic force microscope (AFM). In the absence of importin-beta, cNup153 is highly flexible and can be reversibly stretched and relaxed without any change to its intrinsic entropic elasticity, indicating a lack of intra-FG interactions, i.e., natively unfolded. Importin-beta-modified AFM tips reveal complex binding topologies with cNup153, and provide evidence for binding promiscuity in FG-receptor interactions. These differences suggest that cooperativity between FG-domains arises from FG-receptor interactions instead of FG-FG interactions. On a technical note, this work highlights an improved SMFS technique which involves pre-passivating the underlying substrate surface with polyethylene glycol to reduce undesirable AFM tip-surface effects. A high yield of acceptable data is subsequently obtained from the low surface coverage of target molecules by implementing SMFS measurements in force-volume (FV) mode.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science > Departement Biozentrum > Former Organization Units Biozentrum > Structural Biology (Aebi)
05 Faculty of Science > Departement Biozentrum > Structural Biology & Biophysics > Nanobiology Argovia (Lim)
UniBasel Contributors:Lim, Roderick Y.H. and Aebi, Ueli
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Academic Press
ISSN:1047-8477
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
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Last Modified:14 Sep 2012 07:13
Deposited On:22 Mar 2012 13:23

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