Getting across the nuclear pore complex

The nuclear pore complex (NPC) connects the cytoplasm and nucleus through t he nuclear envelope and serves as the pipeline for moving material between the two compartments. Macromolecules that move through the NPC range in siz e fi om the very small (for example, ions and ATP) to the very Targe (for t rample, ribonucleoprotein particle complexes). Unlike translocation across other organelle membranes, Proteins do not have to be unfolded to be transp orted through the NPC, and the NPC also routinely transports large, multico mponent substrates in both directions.. This review focuses on current unde rstanding of the different mechanisms by which macromolecules move across t he NPC.