Letter abstract


Nature Cell Biology 7, 1267 - 1274 (2005)
Published online: 13 November 2005 | doi:10.1038/ncb1334



There is an Erratum (December 2005) associated with this Letter.

Disruption of GW bodies impairs mammalian RNA interference

Andrew Jakymiw1, Shangli Lian1, Theophany Eystathioy2, Songqing Li1, Minoru Satoh3, John C. Hamel1, Marvin J. Fritzler2 & Edward K.L. Chan1

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The GW182 RNA-binding protein was initially shown to associate with a specific subset of mRNAs and to reside within discrete cytoplasmic foci named GW bodies (GWBs)1. GWBs are enriched in proteins that are involved in mRNA degradation2. Recent reports have shown that exogenously introduced human Argonaute-2 (Ago2) is also enriched in GWBs, indicating that RNA interference function may be somehow linked to these structures3, 4. In this report, we demonstrate that endogenous Ago2 and transfected small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are also present within these same cytoplasmic bodies and that the GW182 protein interacts with Ago2. Disruption of these cytoplasmic foci in HeLa cells interferes with the silencing capability of a siRNA that is specific to lamin-A/C. Our data support a model in which GW182 and/or the microenvironment of the cytoplasmic GWBs contribute to the RNA-induced silencing complex and to RNA silencing.

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  1. Departments of Oral Biology and Anatomy & Cell Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
  2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 4N1.
  3. Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, and Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.

Correspondence to: Edward K.L. Chan1 e-mail: echan@ufl.edu



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