Transport of RNA Between Nucleus and Cytoplasm

The transport out of the nucleus of RNAs transcribed by RNA polymerase II (U snRNAs and mRNAs) has not been extensively studied. Basic questions, such as whether export requires association of the RNA with specific proteins, are not yet definitively answered. Nevertheless, recent progress in this area has been significant. Sequence or structural features of RNAs which are either required for export or which result in nuclear retention have been defined. These are presumed to interact with components of the transport machinery or with anchoring nuclear factors respectively. The unexplained dependence of the transport of certain mRNAs on either intervening sequences or for transcription from specific promoters suggests that RNAs may have to pass through different intranuclear compartments before export. Studies of the import of RNAs from the cytoplasm has revealed that different classes of nuclear localization signals exist, and protein components of viral RNPs that appear to determine the direction in which they move through the nuclear envelope have been identified.