Argonaute proteins are involved in RNA interference (RNAi) and microRNA (miRNA) pathways. They can be classified into three paralogous groups: Argonaute-like proteins, which are similar to Arabidopsis thaliana AGO1; Piwi-like proteins, which are closely related to D. melanogaster PIWI (P-element induced wimpy testis); and the Caenorhabditis elegans-specific group 3 Argonautes []. Protein argonaute-3 (AGO3) belongs to the first group (Argonaute-like proteins) []. It lacks endonuclease activity and does not appear to cleave target mRNAs []. During human stem cells proliferation, AGO3 is involved in accumulation of processed DR2 Alu transcripts and subsequent recruitment of AGO3-associated decapping complexes to the target mRNA [].
