The vault or vault cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein is a eukaryotic organelle whose function is not fully understood. Discovered and successfully isolated by cell biologist Nancy Kedersha and biochemist Leonard Rome of the UCLA School of Medicine in the 1980s, vaults are cytoplasmic organelles which under an electron microscope resemble the arches of a cathedral vault, with 39-fold symmetry. They are present in many types of eukaryotic cells and appear to be highly conserved amongst eukaryotes. Vaults become part of lipid rafts where they may play a role fighting pathogens.