GW182 (E4C7J) Rabbit mAb recognizes endogenous levels of total GW182 protein. This antibody detects both GW182 (Uniprot #Q8NDV7-2) and GW220/TNGW1 (Uniprot #Q8NDV7-1).

Monoclonal antibody is produced by immunizing animals with recombinant protein specific to the carboxy terminus of human GW182 protein.

GW182/TNRC6 (GW) proteins are essential scaffolding proteins that play a critical role in microRNA (miRNA)-mediated gene silencing, a fundamental mechanism for post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. GW proteins associate with members of the Argonaute (Ago) protein family to form the miRNA repressor complex (miRISC) and help target miRISC to specific mRNAs (1,2). GW proteins additionally interact with poly(A)-binding protein (PABP) and the CCR4-NOT deadenylase complex to carry out miRNA-mediated silencing and degradation of target mRNA (3). GW and Ago proteins are also known to associate in small cytoplasmic foci known as processing bodies (P-bodies) (4,5). The exact biological role of P-bodies has not yet been determined; these structures may play a role in mRNA degradation and storage, or are simply formed as a consequence of gene silencing (6,7). P-bodies that contain GW proteins are considered to be a distinct subtype referred to as GW/P-bodies, which sequester unique populations of non-translating mRNA (8,9). Three GW paralogs are expressed in vertebrates: GW182 (also referred to as TNRC6A), TNRC6B, and TNRC6C. These paralogs are believed to carry out partially redundant biological functions (10). GW182 is predominantly expressed as a 182 kDa protein but can also be expressed as a 220 kDa isoform (referred to as GW220/TNGW1) that plays a unique role in the formation of GW/P-bodies (8,11).