LIN28 (EP150)

LIN28 exists in vertebrates as two RNA-binding protein paralogs, LIN28A and LIN28B, which act as translational enhancers of metabolic gene networks in human embryonic stem cells and also function in maintenance of pluripotency.1,2,3 The biogenesis of the let-7 family of tumor suppressor microRNAs is selectively inhibited by LIN28 activity, establishing its role in the promotion of tumorigenesis.3,4,5 LIN28 has been implicated as an essential regulatorin both germ cell development and malignancy and has demonstrated to be a highly sensitive and specific marker for primary extragonadal seminomas/germinomas, embryonal carcinomas, and yolk sac tumors.5,6,7,8 Variable expression of LIN28 has been detected in choriocarcinomas, teratomas, and normal adult testis tissues, while only a small fraction of various extragonadal-non-germ cell tumors have exhibited positive LIN28 expression.7,9,10,11,12 Therefore, anti-LIN28 is a useful marker in the differential identification of germ cell tumors and cancers of non-germ cell origin.