The roles of moonlight ribosomal proteins in the development of human cancers
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Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Methods to Investigate the Regulatory Role of Small RNAs and Ribosomal Occupancy of Plasmodium falciparum
Published on: December 4, 2015
Ghader Molavi1,2, Nasser Samadi1,2,3, Elaheh Zadeh Hosseingholi4
1Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Abstract:
"Moonlighting protein" is a term used to define a single protein with multiple functions and different activities that are not derived from gene fusions, multiple RNA splicing, or the proteolytic activity of promiscuous enzymes. Different proteinous constituents of ribosomes have been shown to have important moonlighting extra-ribosomal functions. In this review, we introduce the impact of key moonlight ribosomal proteins and dependent signal transduction in the initiation and progression of various cancers. As a future perspective, the potential role of these moonlight ribosomal proteins in the diagnosis, prognosis, and development of novel strategies to improve the efficacy of therapies for human cancers has been suggested.
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