Nuclear Pore Complex

Nuclear pore complex (NPC) is a large macromolecular assembly with an estimated size of 110 MDa in vertebrates and 60 MDa in yeast. Y nucleoporins (Nups) are contained within the Y-complex. Nup153 and Nup50, along with translocated promoter region protein, make up the nuclear basket and provide the surface to utilize binding areas for transport. When the nuclear envelope (NE) breaks down during mitosis, the nuclear lamina also disassembles, which occurs when lamins are phosphorylated by protein kinase C. Because the mitotic spindles form outside the NE in higher eukaryotes, the whole NE must disintegrate to progress through the cell cycle. Micronuclei are small nuclei that form separately from the primary nucleus following the formation of an NE around mis-segregated chromosomes. Several types of cancer are associated with intricate mechanisms known as chromothripsis and kataegis that occur in a single event and catastrophically alter the genome.