Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 28, 2025
08:43
Loss- and Gain-of-function Approach to Investigate Early Cell Fate Determinants in Preimplantation Mouse Embryos
Published on: June 6, 2016
9.2K
Argonaute Proteins: From Structure to Function in Development and Pathological Cell Fate Determination.
Madlen Müller1,2, Francesco Fazi3, Constance Ciaudo1
1Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Department of Biology, IMHS, Zurich, Switzerland.
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
|February 11, 2020
Summary
Argonaute proteins regulate gene expression and cell identity. Only Argonaute protein 2 (AGO2) is crucial for early development, with its posttranslational modifications also important in cancer.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Argonaute proteins are key regulators of gene expression networks.
- They are essential for cell identity maintenance throughout life and in diseases like cancer.
- Four Argonaute proteins (AGO1-4) exist in humans and mice, sharing high structural similarity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the roles of Argonaute proteins in early development.
- To focus on the interplay between Argonaute protein domains and their functions.
- To highlight the significance of Argonaute protein posttranslational modifications in cancer.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of Argonaute protein functions.
- Analysis of domain-specific roles in gene regulation.
- Examination of recent findings on Argonaute protein posttranslational modifications.
Main Results:
- AGO2 is uniquely and robustly expressed during early human and mouse development.
- AGO2 is indispensable for both in vivo and in vitro early development.
- Posttranslational modifications of Argonaute proteins are increasingly recognized for their role in cancer.
Conclusions:
- AGO2 plays a critical and specific role in early development.
- Understanding Argonaute protein functions and modifications is vital for both developmental biology and cancer research.
Related Concept Videos
01:51Determination
20.5K
During embryogenesis, cells become progressively committed to different fates through a two-step process: specification followed by determination. Specification is demonstrated by removing a segment of an early embryo, “neutrally” culturing the tissue in vitro—for example, in a petri dish with simple medium—and then observing the derivatives. If the cultured region gives rise to cell types that it would normally generate in the embryo, this means that it is specified. In...
20.5K
02:26Conservation of Protein Domains Over Different Proteins
13.9K
Protein domains are small structurally independent units that are part of a single amino acid chain. Although these domains are often structurally independent, they may rely on synergistic effects to perform their functions as part of a larger protein. Protein domains may be conserved within the same organism, as well as across different organisms.
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to...
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to...
13.9K
02:54Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway
10.2K
The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which...
10.2K
01:21Cell Polarization by Rho Proteins
3.4K
Cell polarity is the asymmetric distribution of cellular and membrane components, making one side of the cell different from the other. This polarity is essential to many processes such as embryogenesis, axon migration, glucose transport across epithelial cells, and directional cell migration. A migrating cell responds to intracellular or extracellular signals via molecular cascades that reorganize the actin cytoskeleton to establish this polarity. In these cells, the Rho family proteins Cdc42,...
3.4K
03:14Notch Signaling Pathway
6.3K
The Notch signaling pathway is a major intracellular signaling pathway that is highly conserved over a broad spectrum of metazoan species. It stands unique from other intracellular signaling mechanisms in animals because notch protein itself acts as the receptor as well as the primary signaling molecule.
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not...
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not...
6.3K
01:30Assembly of Signaling Complexes
6.4K
Multiprotein signaling complexes are formed in a dynamic process involving protein-protein interactions at the cytoplasmic domain of transmembrane receptors or enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins associated with the receptor. These complexes ensure the activation and propagation of intracellular signals that regulate cell functions.
Interaction domains in cell signaling
Interaction domains recognize exposed features of their binding partners containing post-translationally modified sequences,...
Interaction domains in cell signaling
Interaction domains recognize exposed features of their binding partners containing post-translationally modified sequences,...
6.4K