Microprocessor complex subunit DGCR8

The microprocessor complex subunit DGCR8 (DiGeorge syndrome critical region 8) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the DGCR8 gene.^[4] In other animals, particularly the common model organisms Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, the protein is known as Pasha (partner of Drosha).^[5] It is a required component of the RNA interference pathway.

DGCR8
Available structures PDB Ortholog search: PDBe RCSB List of PDB id codes 1X47, 2YT4, 3LE4, 5B16
Identifiers
Aliases	DGCR8, C22orf12, DGCRK6, Gy1, pasha, Pasha, DGCR8 microprocessor complex subunit, microprocessor complex subunit
External IDs	OMIM: 609030; MGI: 2151114; HomoloGene: 11223; GeneCards: DGCR8; OMA:DGCR8 - orthologs
Gene location (Human) Chr. Chromosome 22 (human)[1] Band 22q11.21 Start 20,080,232 bp[1] End 20,111,877 bp[1]
RNA expression pattern Bgee Human Mouse (ortholog) Top expressed in right hemisphere of cerebellum sural nerve right testis left testis body of uterus right ovary right lobe of thyroid gland body of pancreas left ovary apex of heart n/a More reference expression data BioGPS More reference expression data
Gene ontology Molecular function primary miRNA binding ribonuclease III activity double-stranded RNA binding protein binding heme binding protein homodimerization activity metal ion binding RNA binding identical protein binding Cellular component cytoplasm microprocessor complex nucleolus nucleus nucleoplasm postsynaptic density Biological process regulation of stem cell proliferation primary miRNA processing RNA phosphodiester bond hydrolysis, endonucleolytic RNA phosphodiester bond hydrolysis miRNA metabolic process Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs Species Human Mouse Entrez 54487 94223 Ensembl ENSG00000128191 ENSMUSG00000022718 UniProt Q8WYQ5 Q9EQM6 RefSeq (mRNA) NM_001190326 NM_022720 NM_033324 RefSeq (protein) NP_001177255 NP_073557 NP_201581 Location (UCSC) Chr 22: 20.08 – 20.11 Mb n/a PubMed search [2] [3]
Wikidata
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Function

The subunit DGCR8 is localized to the cell nucleus and is required for microRNA (miRNA) processing. It binds to the other subunit Drosha, an RNase III enzyme, to form the microprocessor complex that cleaves a primary transcript known as pri-miRNA to a characteristic stem-loop structure known as a pre-miRNA, which is then further processed to miRNA fragments by the enzyme Dicer. DGCR8 contains an RNA-binding domain and is thought to bind pri-miRNA to stabilize it for processing by Drosha.^[6]

DGCR8 is also required for some types of DNA repair. Removal of UV-induced DNA photoproducts, during transcription coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER), depends on JNK phosphorylation of DGCR8 on serine 153.^[7] While DGCR8 is known to function in microRNA biogenesis, this activity is not required for DGCR8-dependent removal of UV-induced photoproducts.^[7] Nucleotide excision repair is also needed for repair of oxidative DNA damage due to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), and DGCR8 depleted cells are sensitive to H₂O₂.^[7]