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PMID: 18304383 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Review

The Argonaute protein family.

Genome biology ·Vol. 9 ·No. 2 ·2008-00-00 ·Pages 210

Höck J, Meister G

Abstract

Argonaute proteins were first discovered genetically, and extensive research in the past few years has revealed that members of the Argonaute protein family are key players in gene-silencing pathways guided by small RNAs. Small RNAs such as short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs) or Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are anchored into specific binding pockets and guide Argonaute proteins to target mRNA molecules for silencing or destruction. Various classes of small RNAs and Argonaute proteins are found in all higher eukaryotes and have important functions in processes as diverse as embryonic development, cell differentiation and transposon silencing. Argonaute proteins are evolutionarily conserved and can be phylogenetically subdivided into the Ago subfamily and the Piwi subfamily. Ago proteins are ubiquitously expressed and bind to siRNAs or miRNAs to guide post-transcriptional gene silencing either by destabilization of the mRNA or by translational repression. The expression of Piwi proteins is mostly restricted to the germ line and Piwi proteins associate with piRNAs to facilitate silencing of mobile genetic elements. Although various aspects of Argonaute function have been identified, many Argonaute proteins are still poorly characterized. Therefore, it is very likely that as yet unknown functions of the Argonaute protein family will be elucidated in the future.

MeSH Terms
Amino Acid Sequence Animals Conserved Sequence Humans Mice MicroRNAs/metabolism Phylogeny Protein Structure, Tertiary RNA Interference RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism RNA-Binding Proteins/classification,genetics,metabolism
Chemicals
MicroRNAs RNA, Small Interfering RNA-Binding Proteins
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Höck Julia
Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CIPSM), Laboratory of RNA Biology, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
Meister Gunter
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Article Info
Journal
Genome biology
Abbr.
Genome Biol
ISSN
1474-760X
DOI
10.1186/gb-2008-9-2-210
Published
2008-00-00
Epub
2008-00-26
Pages
210
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
100960660
PMCID
PMC2374724
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1186/gb-2008-9-2-210 PMC Full Text View journal details
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