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Nature 396, 111-113 (12 November 1998) | doi:10.1038/24036

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Protein transport:  Life and death of a signal peptide

Gunnar von Heijne1

Signal peptides target proteins for secretion in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. A deceptively simple-looking amino-terminal extension on the newly synthesized polypeptide chain, the signal peptide takes part in an array of protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions.

  1. Gunnar von Heijne is in the Department of Biochemistry, Arrhenius Laboratories, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
    e-mail: Email: gunnar@biokemi.su.se