Abstract
Small RNAs are essential for a variety of cellular functions. Argonaute (AGO) proteins are associated with all of the different classes of small RNAs, and are indispensable in small RNA-mediated regulatory pathways. AGO proteins have been identified in various types of stem cells in diverse species from plants and animals. This review article highlights recent progress on how AGO proteins and AGO-bound small RNAs regulate the self-renewal and differentiation of distinct stem cell types, including pluripotent, germline, somatic, and cancer stem cells.
Highlights
Small RNAs, including microRNAs, short interfering RNAs and Piwi-interacting RNAs, achieve their gene silencing functions at diverse levels of cellular progresses, including at the transcription, RNA processing, RNA stability, translation and post-translational levels [1,2]. These small RNAs execute their effects by associating with Argonaute (AGO) proteins, which are further divided into three subfamilies, AGO, Piwi, and Group 3 subfamilies
The miRNAs and short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) interact with AGOs, while Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) mainly interact with Piwi
Since Group 3 (WAGO) subfamily is only found in worms, we focus on AGO and Piwi in this review
Summary
Small RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), achieve their gene silencing functions at diverse levels of cellular progresses, including at the transcription, RNA processing, RNA stability, translation and post-translational levels [1,2] These small RNAs execute their effects by associating with Argonaute (AGO) proteins, which are further divided into three subfamilies, AGO, Piwi, and Group 3 (known as WAGO) subfamilies. Since Group 3 (WAGO) subfamily is only found in worms, we focus on AGO and Piwi in this review Both protein subfamilies are found in a range of stem cell types and have important roles in a variety of cellular functions, including stem cell maturation and differentiation, embryonic development, and transposon functions [3], which critically contribute to the regulation of self-renewal, proliferation and differentiation of stem cells via specific mechanisms [4,5,6,7]. 21-nt miRNAs, vsiRNAs, diRNAs n/d 24-nt siRNAs siRNAs 24-nt siRNAs, 21–22-nt endo-siRNAs miR390 n/d
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