Figure 6-40Schematic illustration of an “export-ready” mRNA molecule and its transport through the nuclear pore
As indicated, some proteins travel with the mRNA as it moves through the pore, whereas others remain in the nucleus. Once in the cytoplasm, the mRNA continues to shed previously bound proteins and acquire new ones; these substitutions affect the subsequent translation of the message. Because some are transported with the RNA, the proteins that become bound to an mRNA in the nucleus can influence its subsequent stability and translation in the cytosol. RNA export factors, shown in the nucleus, play an active role in transporting the mRNA to the cytosol (see Figure 12-16). Some are deposited at exon-exon boundaries as splicing is completed, thus signifying those regions of the RNA that have been properly spliced.