‘Doorway’ Proteins Play Unexpected Role In Embryonic Stem Cells

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Research at The Salk Institute has uncovered that nucleoporins, proteins which act like pores and control entry and exit from the nucleus, may also have another more surprising role in gene expression too.  When certain nucleoporins were noted moving away from the nuclear pores and no longer contributing to structural support, scientists were curious what else they might be doing inside the cell. To their dismay, when the gene for one such protein, Nup153, was deleted the stem cells transformed into neurons. It appears that nucleoporin proteins may therefore play an important role in stem cell differentiation and genomic regulation. Read more at Bioscience Technology