Journal
ANNUAL REVIEW OF GENETICS, VOL 45
Volume 45, Issue -, Pages 447-469Publisher
ANNUAL REVIEWS
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genet-110410-132541
Keywords
Argonaute; Piwi; piRNA; transposon; epigenetic regulation; posttranscriptional regulation
Categories
Funding
- NCI NIH HHS [DP1 CA174418] Funding Source: Medline
- NICHD NIH HHS [R01 HD033760, R01HD42042, R01HD37760S1, R03 HD042042, R01 HD042012] Funding Source: Medline
- NIGMS NIH HHS [F32GM090372, F32 GM090372] Funding Source: Medline
- NIH HHS [DP1 OD006825, DP1OD006852] Funding Source: Medline
- EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH &HUMAN DEVELOPMENT [R01HD033760, R01HD042012, R03HD042042] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE [DP1CA174418] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES [F32GM090372] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH [DP1OD006825] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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The topipotency of the germline is the full manifestation of the pluri- and multipotency of embryonic and adult stem cells, thus the germline and stem cells must share common mechanisms that guarantee their multipotentials in development. One of the few such known shared mechanisms is represented by Piwi proteins, which constitute one of the two subfamilies of the Argonaute protein family. Piwi proteins bind to Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) that are generally 26 to 31 nucleotides in length. Both Piwi proteins and piRNAs are most abundantly expressed in the germline. Moreover, Piwi proteins are expressed broadly in certain types of somatic stem/progenitor cells and other somatic cells across animal phylogeny. Recent studies indicate that the Piwi-piRNA pathway mediates epigenetic programming and posttranscriptional regulation, which may be responsible for its function in germline specification, gametogenesis, stem cell maintenance, transposon silencing, and genome integrity in diverse organisms.
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