Abstract
The enzyme Dicer is best known for its role as a riboendonuclease in the small RNA pathway. In this canonical role, Dicer is a critical regulator of the biogenesis of microRNA and small interfering RNA, as well as a growing number of additional small RNAs derived from various sources. Emerging evidence demonstrates that Dicer's endonuclease role extends beyond the generation of small RNAs; it is also involved in processing additional endogenous and exogenous substrates, and is becoming increasingly implicated in regulating a variety of other cellular processes, outside of its endonuclease function. This review will describe the canonical and newly identified functions of Dicer.
Highlights
The Dicer enzyme is a member of the ribonuclease (RNase) III family
It is most well known as the endonuclease that functions in the viral-associated RNA (RNA) interference (RNAi) pathway to cleave long double-stranded RNA molecules into short dsRNA molecules, known as small RNAs, including microRNA and small interfering RNA
Dicer is implicated in the generation of CU1276, a 22-nt transfer RNA (tRNA) (Gly)-derived small RNA expressed in mature B cells, which is physically associated with AGO and represses an endogenous target mRNA
Summary
The Dicer enzyme is a member of the ribonuclease (RNase) III family. It is most well known as the endonuclease that functions in the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway to cleave long double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules into short dsRNA molecules, known as small RNAs, including microRNA (miRNA) and small interfering RNA (siRNA). Definitive functions for eukaryotic Dicer can be ascribed to different activities within the helicase domain, which is thought to facilitate movement of the protein along long dsRNA molecules [26] This domain is analogous to the retinoic acid-inducible gene I-like family in the helicase superfamily 2 [27,28]. The biogenesis of most small RNA classes, including miRNAs and many siRNAs, occurs through a stepwise process in the cytoplasm This process involves association with Dicer and specific members of the large family of Argonaute (AGO) proteins, and assembly into various effector complexes, including the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC).
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