The vault complex, with a mass of 13 MDa, is the largest ribonucleoprotein particle found in eukaryotes
PMID:19779459. Although several functions have been proposed for vaults since their discovery in 1986, including roles in multidrug resistance, cell signaling, and innate immunity, their cellular function remains unclear
PMID:19150846. In mammals, vaults contain three proteins: the 100-kDa major vault protein (MVP), the 193-kDa vault poly(ADP-ribosyl)ating polymerase VPARP and the 240-kDa telomerase-associated protein TEP1. Approximately 75% of the vault particle mass is due to MVP
PMID:19779459. The MVP monomer folds to form structural repeat domains at the N-terminus (as shown in this family), a shoulder domain, a cap-helix and cap-ring domains.
PMID:19779459 PMID:19150846