PIWI-L3 is a member of the PIWI subfamily of Argonaute proteins, evolutionarily conserved proteins containing both PAZ and Piwi motifs that are crucial for the biogenesis and function of small non-coding RNAs and play important roles in stem cell self-renewal, RNA silencing, and translational regulation in diverse organisms. Recent studies have shown that overexpression of PIWI-L3 (as well as other PIWI-like proteins) are potential biomarkers for astrocytic glioma, meningioma, and other cancers.Synonyms: HIWI3, Piwi-like protein 3