Molecular architecture of the transport channel of the nuclear pore complex.

The nuclear pore complex encloses a central channel for nucleocytoplasmic transport, which is thought to consist of three nucleoporins, Nup54, Nup58, and Nup62. However, the structure and composition of the channel are elusive. We determined the crystal structures of the interacting domains between these nucleoporins and pieced together the molecular architecture of the mammalian transport channel. Located in the channel midplane is a flexible Nup54⋅Nup58 ring that can undergo large rearrangements yielding diameter changes from ∼20 to ∼40 nm. Nup62⋅Nup54 triple helices project alternately up and down from either side of the midplane ring and form nucleoplasmic and cytoplasmic entries. The channel consists of as many as 224 copies of the three nucleoporins, amounting to a molar mass of 12.3 MDa and contributing 256 phenylalanine-glycine repeat regions. We propose that the occupancy of these repeat regions with transport receptors modulates ring diameter and transport activity.

Recessive NUP54 Variants Underlie Early-Onset Dystonia with Striatal Lesions.

Infantile striatonigral degeneration is caused by a homozygous variant of the nuclear-pore complex (NPC) gene NUP62, involved in nucleo-cytoplasmic trafficking. By querying sequencing-datasets of patients with dystonia and/or Leigh(-like) syndromes, we identified 3 unrelated individuals with biallelic variants in NUP54. All variants clustered in the C-terminal protein region that interacts with NUP62. Associated phenotypes were similar to those of NUP62-related disease, including early-onset dystonia with dysphagia, choreoathetosis, and T2-hyperintense lesions in striatum. In silico and protein-biochemical studies gave further evidence for the argument that the variants were pathogenic. We expand the spectrum of NPC component-associated dystonic conditions with localized basal-ganglia abnormalities. ANN NEUROL 2023;93:330-335.

Ordered Regions of Channel Nucleoporins Nup62, Nup54, and Nup58 Form Dynamic Complexes in Solution.

Three out of ∼30 nucleoporins, Nup62, Nup54, and Nup58, line the nuclear pore channel. These "channel" nucleoporins each contain an ordered region of ∼150-200 residues, which is predicted to be segmented into 3-4 α-helical regions of ∼40-80 residues. Notably, these segmentations are evolutionarily conserved between uni- and multicellular eukaryotes. Strikingly, the boundaries of these segments match our previously reported mapping and crystal data, which collectively identified two "cognate" segments of Nup54, each interacting with cognate segments, one in Nup58 and the other one in Nup62. Because Nup54 and Nup58 cognate segments form crystallographic hetero- or homo-oligomers, we proposed that these oligomers associate into inter-convertible "mid-plane" rings: a single large ring (40-50 nm diameter, consisting of eight hetero-dodecamers) or three small rings (10-20 nm diameter, each comprising eight homo-tetramers). Each "ring cycle" would recapitulate "dilation" and "constriction" of the nuclear pore complex's central transport channel. As for the Nup54·Nup62 interactome, it forms a 1:2 triple helix ("finger"), multiples of which project alternately up and down from mid-plane ring(s). Collectively, our previous crystal data suggested a copy number of 128, 64, and 32 for Nup62, Nup54, and Nup58, respectively, that is, a 4:2:1 stoichiometry. Here, we carried out solution analysis utilizing the entire ordered regions of Nup62, Nup54, and Nup58, and demonstrate that they form a dynamic "triple complex" that is heterogeneously formed from our previously characterized Nup54·Nup58 and Nup54·Nup62 interactomes. These data are consistent both with our crystal structure-deduced copy numbers and stoichiometries and also with our ring cycle model for structure and dynamics of the nuclear pore channel.

Ring cycle for dilating and constricting the nuclear pore.

We recently showed that the three "channel" nucleoporins, Nup54, Nup58, and Nup62, interact with each other through only four distinct sites and established the crystal structures of the two resulting "interactomes," Nup54•Nup58 and Nup54•Nup62. We also reported instability of the Nup54•Nup58 interactome and previously determined the atomic structure of the relevant Nup58 segment by itself, demonstrating that it forms a twofold symmetric tetramer. Here, we report the crystal structure of the relevant free Nup54 segment and show that it forms a tetrameric, helical bundle that is structurally "conditioned" for instability by a central patch of polar hydrogen-bonded residues. Integrating these data with our previously reported results, we propose a "ring cycle" for dilating and constricting the nuclear pore. In essence, three homooligomeric rings, one consisting of eight modules of Nup58 tetramers, and two, each consisting of eight modules of Nup54 tetramers, are stacked in midplane and characterize a constricted pore of 10- to 20-nm diameter. In going to the dilated state, segments of one Nup58 and two Nup54 tetrameric modules reassort into a dodecameric module, eight of which form a single, heterooligomeric midplane ring, which is flexible in a diameter range of 40-50 nm. The ring cycle would be regulated by phenylalanine-glycine regions ("FG repeats") of channel nups. Akin to ligand-gated channels, the dilated state of the midplane ring may be stabilized by binding of [cargo•transport-factor] complexes to FG repeats, thereby linking the ratio of constricted to dilated nuclear pores to cellular transport need.

Structure of Nup58/45 suggests flexible nuclear pore diameter by intermolecular sliding.

The nucleoporins Nup58 and Nup45 are part of the central transport channel of the nuclear pore complex, which is thought to have a flexible diameter. In the crystal structure of an alpha-helical region of mammalian Nup58/45, we identified distinct tetramers, each consisting of two antiparallel hairpin dimers. The intradimeric interface is hydrophobic, whereas dimer-dimer association occurs through large hydrophilic residues. These residues are laterally displaced in various tetramer conformations, which suggests an intermolecular sliding by 11 angstroms. We propose that circumferential sliding plays a role in adjusting the diameter of the central transport channel.