Access

News and Views

Nature 438, 299-300 (17 November 2005) | doi:10.1038/438299a; Published online 16 November 2005

Open Innovation Challenges

naturejobs

More science jobs
Post a job for free

Cell biology: Two pores better than one?

Arnold J. M. Driessen1

Top

The movement of proteins through a cell's membrane requires a dedicated molecular machine. A glimpse of this apparatus in action shows that it has two channels, and hints at how these pores might be regulated.

A cell's membrane bristles with proteins that sense and communicate with its environment, and the cell secretes other proteins to send messages farther afield. To reach their destination, these proteins must travel from the aqueous environment of the cytoplasm where they are synthesized, through the seemingly impenetrable boundary of the lipid membrane.

  1. Arnold J. M. Driessen is in the Department of Molecular Microbiology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, and the Materials Sciences Center Plus, University of Groningen, 9751 NN Haren, The Netherlands.
    Email: a.j.m.driessen@rug.nl

MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS

These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.

NEWS AND VIEWS

Cell biology Fraternal twins

Nature News and Views (12 Apr 2007)

Structural biology Clamour for a kiss

Nature News and Views (16 Oct 2008)

See all 3 matches for News And Views

RESEARCH

Structure of the E. coli protein-conducting channel bound to a translating ribosome

Nature Article (17 Nov 2005)

YidC, the Escherichia coli homologue of mitochondrial Oxa1p, is a component of the Sec translocase

The EMBO Journal Article (15 Feb 2000)

See all 31 matches for Research