Molecular characterization of human Argonaute-containing ribonucleoprotein complexes and their bound target mRNAs.

microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate the expression of mRNAs in animals and plants through miRNA-containing ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs). At the core of these miRNA silencing effector complexes are the Argonaute (AGO) proteins that bind miRNAs and mediate target mRNA recognition. We generated HEK293 cell lines stably expressing epitope-tagged human AGO proteins and other RNA silencing-related proteins and used these cells to purify miRNA-containing RNPs.