AGO4
Description
The AGO4 (argonaute RISC component 4) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 1.
The Argonaute protein family is essential for RNA silencing processes, playing a key role in the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). RISC is responsible for RNA interference (RNAi), a mechanism where gene expression is silenced by RNA molecules. Argonaute proteins bind to different types of small non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). These small RNAs guide Argonaute proteins to their targets through sequence complementarity, leading to mRNA cleavage, translation inhibition, or mRNA decay. The name 'Argonaute' originates from the mutant phenotype of AGO1 in Arabidopsis thaliana, resembling the pelagic octopus Argonauta argo. RNAi is a vital cellular defense against parasitic nucleotide sequences. In eukaryotes, RNAi is initiated by the enzyme Dicer, which cleaves long double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into short siRNAs.
AGO4 is also known as EIF2C4.
Associated Diseases
- cancer
- ovarian cancer
- endometrial cancer
- esophageal cancer
- urinary bladder cancer
- schizophrenia
- male infertility with teratozoospermia due to single gene mutation
- partial chromosome Y deletion
- spermatogenic failure 25
- spermatogenic failures 50
- congenital bilateral absence of vas deferens
- spermatogenic failure 48
- spermatogenic failure, X-linked, 2
- spermatogenic failure 63
- spermatogenic failure 51
