Signal patch

<p>A protein signal patch contains information to send a given <a href="/facts/Protein/Jxmagu3E">protein</a> to the indicated location in the <a href="/facts/Cell_(biology)/bLM9UQvy">cell</a>. It is made up of <a href="/facts/Amino_acid/WDxYwBny">amino acid</a> residues that are distant to one another in the <a href="/facts/Primary_structure/VaN6MEYh">primary sequence</a>, but come close to each other in the <a href="/facts/Tertiary_structure/VaN6MEYh">tertiary structure</a> of the folded protein (see red patch in the diagram). Signal patches, unlike some <a href="/facts/Signal_peptide/9oARjq52">signal sequences</a>, are not cleaved from the mature protein after sorting. They are very difficult to predict. <a href="/facts/Nuclear_localization_signal/7Scmc4jV">Nuclear localization signals</a> are often signal patches although signal sequences also exist. They are found on proteins destined for the <a href="/facts/Cell_nucleus/D7sFRa3c">nucleus</a> and enable their selective transport from the cytosol into the nucleus through the nuclear pore complexes.
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Signal patch open-in-new

Signal patch