PIWIL1/HIWI Antibody

PIWI (P-element-induced wimpy testis; also HIWI and PIWIL1) is a 92-98 kDa member of the Piwi subfamily, Argonaute family of proteins. It is expressed in germline cells, particularly spermatocytes and spermatids, and also appears in CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells plus select tumor types. PIWI binds to a series of 28‑34 nucleic acid long noncoding RNAs that participate in gametogenesis. It does so under the influence of Arg methyltransferases, and in conjunction with Tudor‑containing proteins. Human PIWI/PIWIL1 is 861 amino acids (aa) in length. It contains a methylation target region in the N-terminus, followed by an RNA-binding PAZ domain (aa 277-391) and an RNA-cleaving PIWI domain (aa 555-847). There are two isoform variants. One is widely expressed and shows a three aa substitution for aa 1‑89. The second contains a six aa substitution for aa 824-861. Over aa 82-290, human PIWI (HIWI) shares 95% aa sequence identity with mouse PIWI (MIWI).