RNA interference

any process of posttranscriptional gene inactivation mediated by small RNA molecules that may trigger mRNA degradation or down-regulate translation

Dicer, also known as endoribonuclease Dicer or helicase with RNase motif, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the gene. Being part of the RNase III family, Dicer cleaves double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and pre-microRNA (pre-miRNA) into short double-stranded RNA fragments called small interfering RNA and microRNA, respectively. These fragments are approximately 20–25 base pairs long with a two-base overhang on the 3′-end. Dicer facilitates the activation of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), which is essential for RNA interference. RISC has a catalytic component Argonaute, which is an

type of RNA

compound which is analogous (structurally similar) to naturally occurring RNA and DNA, used in medicine and in molecular biology research

thumb|Crystal structure of Drosha and DGCR8, which form the core of the microprocessor complex.

The Argonaute protein family, first discovered for its evolutionarily conserved stem cell function, plays a central role in RNA silencing processes as essential components of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). RISC is responsible for the gene silencing phenomenon known as RNA interference (RNAi). Argonaute proteins bind different classes of small non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). Small RNAs guide Argonaute proteins to their specific targets through sequence complementarity (base pairing), which then leads t

protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Protein argonaute-2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EIF2C2 gene.