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J. Cell Biol.,
Volume 145, Number 2, April 19, 1999 255-264



* Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Heidelberg, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Importin
University of Geneva,
Department of Molecular Biology, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland; § Abteilung Molekulare Biologie der Mitose, Deutsches
Krebsforschungszentrum, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany;
Institut für Molekularbiologie und Tumorforschung, D-35037
Marburg, Germany; and ¶ Zentrum Biochemie und Molekulare Zellbiologie, Abteilung Biochemie II, D-37073 Göttingen,
Germany
is a major mediator of import
into the cell nucleus. Importin
binds cargo molecules
either directly or via two types of adapter molecules,
importin
, for import of proteins with a classical nuclear localization signal (NLS), or snurportin 1, for import of m3G-capped U snRNPs. Both adapters have an
NH2-terminal importin
-binding domain for binding
to, and import by, importin
, and both need to be returned to the cytoplasm after having delivered their
cargoes to the nucleus. We have shown previously that
CAS mediates export of importin
. Here we show that
snurportin 1 is exported by CRM1, the receptor for leucine-rich nuclear export signals (NESs). However, the
interaction of CRM1 with snurportin 1 differs from that
with previously characterized NESs. First, CRM1 binds
snurportin 1 50-fold stronger than the Rev protein and
5,000-fold stronger than the minimum Rev activation
domain. Second, snurportin 1 interacts with CRM1 not
through a short peptide but rather via a large domain
that allows regulation of affinity. Strikingly, snurportin
1 has a low affinity for CRM1 when bound to its m3G-capped import substrate, and a high affinity when substrate-free. This mechanism appears crucial for productive import cycles as it can ensure that CRM1 only
exports snurportin 1 that has already released its import substrate in the nucleus.
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