title: Generation of catalytic human Ago4 identifies structural elements important for RNA cleavage.
abstract: Argonaute proteins bind small RNAs and mediate cleavage of complementary target RNAs. The human Argonaute protein Ago4 is catalytically inactive, although it is highly similar to catalytic Ago2. Here, we have generated Ago2-Ago4 chimeras and analyzed their cleavage activity in vitro. We identify several specific features that inactivate Ago4: the catalytic center, short sequence elements in the N-terminal domain, and an Ago4-specific insertion in the catalytic domain. In addition, we show that Ago2-mediated cleavage of the noncanonical miR-451 precursor can be carried out by any catalytic human Ago protein. Finally, phylogenetic analyses establish evolutionary distances between the Ago proteins. Interestingly, these distances do not fully correlate with the structural changes inactivating them, suggesting functional adaptations of individual human Ago proteins.
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry Center Regensburg (BZR), Laboratory for RNA Biology, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hauptmann
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry Center Regensburg (BZR), Laboratory for RNA Biology, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kater
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Löffler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Merkl
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry Center Regensburg (BZR), Laboratory for RNA Biology, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany gunter.meister@vkl.uni-regensburg.de.
authors.forename: Gunter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meister
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D060565:Argonaute Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D002384:Catalysis; D039642:Eukaryotic Initiation Factors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D010802:Phylogeny; D011487:Protein Conformation; D059367:RNA Cleavage / Q000235:genetics*; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: C466422:AGO2 protein, human; C517144:AGO4 protein, human; D060565:Argonaute Proteins; D039642:Eukaryotic Initiation Factors; D035683:MicroRNAs; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering
keywords: Ago4; Argonaute proteins; RNAi; gene silencing; microRNAs; siRNAs
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