Export receptor for importin-alpha. Mediates importin- alpha re-export from the nucleus to the cytoplasm after import substrates (cargos) have been released into the nucleoplasm. In the nucleus binds cooperatively to importin-alpha and to the GTPase Ran in its active GTP-bound form. Docking of this trimeric complex to the nuclear pore complex (NPC) is mediated through binding to nucleoporins. Upon transit of a nuclear export complex into the cytoplasm, disassembling of the complex and hydrolysis of Ran-GTP to Ran-GDP (induced by RANBP1 and RANGAP1, respectively) cause release of the importin-alpha from the export receptor. CSE1L/XPO2 then return to the nuclear compartment and mediate another round of transport. The directionality of nuclear export is thought to be conferred by an asymmetric distribution of the GTP- and GDP-bound forms of Ran between the cytoplasm and nucleus.
