title: Argonaute proteins: functional insights and emerging roles.
abstract: Small-RNA-guided gene regulation has emerged as one of the fundamental principles in cell function, and the major protein players in this process are members of the Argonaute protein family. Argonaute proteins are highly specialized binding modules that accommodate the small RNA component - such as microRNAs (miRNAs), short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) or PIWI-associated RNAs (piRNAs) - and coordinate downstream gene-silencing events by interacting with other protein factors. Recent work has made progress in our understanding of classical Argonaute-mediated gene-silencing principles, such as the effects on mRNA translation and decay, but has also implicated Argonaute proteins in several other cellular processes, such as transcriptional regulation and splicing.
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry Center Regensburg, Laboratory for RNA Biology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany. gunter.meister@vkl. uni-regensburg.de
authors.forename: Gunter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meister
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics; D060565:Argonaute Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001665:Binding Sites; D002460:Cell Line; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004260:DNA Repair; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism; D034622:RNA Interference; D012326:RNA Splicing; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D060565:Argonaute Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering