Cellular Vault Function Mystery

In 1986, American biochemist Leonard H. Rome and cell biologist Nancy Kedersha discovered a massive, barrel-shaped structure inside cells called the vault. These giant ribonucleoprotein particles exist in nearly every eukaryotic cell and can number in the tens of thousands within a single cell. Despite more than 40 years of research, scientists still have not pinned down their exact function, even though they appear linked to processes like transport, immunity, and drug resistance. That has left one of the most abundant structures in biology as one of its least understood.

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