title: Assembly and function of RNA silencing complexes.
abstract: In the RNA-interference pathway, double-stranded RNA induces sequence-specific mRNA degradation through the action of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Recent work has provided our first glimpses of the RISC-assembly pathway and uncovered the biochemical roles of critical RISC components. These advances have taken our mechanistic understanding of RNA interference to a new level and promise to improve our ability to exploit this biological process for use in experimental biology and medicine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology, Northwestern University, 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3500, USA. erik@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Erik J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Sontheimer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism; D004330:Drosophila / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry; D034622:RNA Interference; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D012313:RNA