GSBS Student Publications

Title

Asymmetry in the assembly of the RNAi enzyme complex

UMMS Affiliation

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology; Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism

Date

10-22-2003

Document Type

Article

Medical Subject Headings

Adenosine Diphosphate; Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Base Pair Mismatch; Base Pairing; Base Sequence; Drosophila melanogaster; Hydrogen Bonding; Kinetics; MicroRNAs; Models, Biological; Phosphorylation; RNA Helicases; *RNA Interference; RNA, Antisense; RNA, Double-Stranded; RNA, Messenger; RNA, Small Interfering; RNA, Untranslated; RNA-Induced Silencing Complex; Superoxide Dismutase

Disciplines

Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences

Abstract

A key step in RNA interference (RNAi) is assembly of the RISC, the protein-siRNA complex that mediates target RNA cleavage. Here, we show that the two strands of an siRNA duplex are not equally eligible for assembly into RISC. Rather, both the absolute and relative stabilities of the base pairs at the 5' ends of the two siRNA strands determine the degree to which each strand participates in the RNAi pathway. siRNA duplexes can be functionally asymmetric, with only one of the two strands able to trigger RNAi. Asymmetry is the hallmark of a related class of small, single-stranded, noncoding RNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs). We suggest that single-stranded miRNAs are initially generated as siRNA-like duplexes whose structures predestine one strand to enter the RISC and the other strand to be destroyed. Thus, the common step of RISC assembly is an unexpected source of asymmetry for both siRNA function and miRNA biogenesis.

Rights and Permissions

Citation: Cell. 2003 Oct 17;115(2):199-208.

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

Journal Title

Cell

PubMed ID

14567917

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS