Pasha , also known as DGCR8 in vertebrates organisms, is a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 localized to the cell nucleus

Cell nucleus

In cell biology, the nucleus is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells. It contains most of the cell's genetic material, organized as multiple long linear DNA molecules in complex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes. The genes within these...

 that is required for microRNA processing. It binds to Drosha

Drosha

Drosha is a Class 2 RNase III enzyme responsible for initiating the processing of microRNA , or short RNA molecules naturally expressed by the cell that regulate a wide variety of other genes by interacting with the RNA-induced silencing complex to induce cleavage of complementary messenger RNA ...

, an RNase III

RNase III

RNase III enzymes specifically bind to and cleave double-stranded RNA . There are three subdivisions, known as Class 1, 2, and 3.Prokaryotic ribonuclease III is an enzyme that digests double-stranded RNA. It is involved in the processing of ribosomal RNA precursors and of some mRNAs.* Class 1...

 enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

, to form the Microprocessor complex that cleaves a primary transcript

Primary transcript

A primary transcript is an RNA molecule that has not yet undergone any modification after its synthesis. For example, a precursor messenger RNA is a primary transcript that becomes a messenger RNA after processing, and a primary microRNA precursor becomes a microRNA after processing....

 known as pri-miRNA to a characteristic stem-loop

Stem-loop

Stem-loop intramolecular base pairing is a pattern that can occur in single-stranded DNA or, more commonly, in RNA. The structure is also known as a hairpin or hairpin loop. It occurs when two regions of the same strand, usually complementary in nucleotide sequence when read in opposite directions,...

 structure known as a pre-miRNA, which is then further processed to miRNA

Mirna

Mirna may refer to:geographical entities* Mirna , a river in Istria, Croatia* Mirna , a river in Slovenia, tributary of the river Sava* Mirna , a settlement in the municipality of Mirna in Southeastern Sloveniapeople...

 fragments by the enzyme Dicer

Dicer

Dicer is an endoribonuclease in the RNase III family that cleaves double-stranded RNA and pre-microRNA into short double-stranded RNA fragments called small interfering RNA about 20-25 nucleotides long, usually with a two-base overhang on the 3' end...

. Pasha contains an RNA

RNA

Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....

-binding domain and is thought to bind pri-miRNA to stabilize it for processing by Drosha.