Proximity-dependent biotin identification (BioID) is a method for identifying protein associations that occur in vivo. By fusing a promiscuous biotin ligase to a protein of interest expressed in living cells, BioID permits the labeling of proximate proteins during a defined labeling period. In this study we used BioID to study the human nuclear pore complex (NPC), one of the largest macromolecu...

The symmetric core of the nuclear pore complex can be considered schematically as a series of concentric cylinders. A peripheral cylinder coating the pore membrane contains the previously characterized, elongated heptamer that harbors Sec13-Nup145C in its middle section. Strikingly, Sec13-Nup145C crystallizes as a hetero-octamer in two space groups. Oligomerization of Sec13-Nup145C was confirme...

Multi-domain voltage-gated ion channels appear to have evolved through sequential rounds of intragenic duplication from a primordial one-domain precursor. Whereas modularity within one-domain symmetrical channels is established, little is known about the roles of individual regions within more complex asymmetrical channels where the domains have undergone substantial divergence. Here we isolate...

To investigate the membrane pore structure of Cyt2Aa1 toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis, 14 single-cysteine substitutions of the toxin were constructed. Five of these mutants (L172C, V186C, L189C, E214C and L220C) yielded characteristic products when processed by proteinase K; other mutants were degraded by this enzyme. Mutants that yielded characteristic proteolysed products and wild-type toxi...

Toward dissecting the molecular composition and architecture of the nuclear pore complex (NPC), over the past 18 months novel nucleoporins and NPC subcomplexes were identified and characterized. The three-dimensional structure of isolated yeast NPCs was determined by electron cryomicroscopy. New specimen preparation and labeling protocols localized a number of nucleoporins and NPC subcomplexes ...

Recently the concept of hierarchical zeolites invoked more explicit attention to enhanced accessibility of zeolites. By realizing additional meso-/macroporosity with the intrinsic microporosity of zeolites, a hierarchical pore system arises which facilitates mass transport while maintaining the zeolite shape selectivity. A great number of synthesis strategies have been developed for tailoring t...

Bone tissue engineering offers promising alternatives to repair and restore orthopaedic disorders. Our laboratory has employed poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLAGA) microspheres to develop a three dimensional (3-D) porous bioresorbable scaffold with a pore structure similar to the structure of human trabecular bone. The success of osseous healing and integration of the engineered implants ...