Nuclear Transport Factor 2 (NUTF2)

Nuclear transport factor 2 is a cytosolic factor that facilitates protein transport into the nucleus. It interacts with the nuclear pore complex glycoprotein p62. This encoded protein acts at a relative late stage of nuclear protein import, subsequent to the initial docking of nuclear import ligand at the nuclear envelope. It is thought to be part of a multicomponent system of cytosolic factors that assemble at the pore complex during nuclear import. NTF2 is required for the nuclear import and reaccumulation of RAN, a molecule that is depleted from the nucleus as RAN-GTP complexed with exported cargo. By mutation analysis and biochemical studies, they determined that nuclear reaccumulation of RAN is mediated by direct interaction between the 2 proteins and that RAN-GDP is the species bound and transported by NTF2.