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Lin28 promotes transformation and is associated with advanced human malignancies

  • Srinivas R. Viswanathan
  • , John T. Powers
  • , William Einhorn
  • , Yujin Hoshida
  • , Tony L. Ng
  • , Sara Toffanin
  • , Maureen O'Sullivan
  • , Jun Lu
  • , Letha A. Phillips
  • , Victoria L. Lockhart
  • , Samar P. Shah
  • , Pradeep S. Tanwar
  • , Craig H. Mermel
  • , Rameen Beroukhim
  • , Mohammad Azam
  • , Jose Teixeira
  • , Matthew Meyerson
  • , Timothy P. Hughes
  • , Josep M. Llovet
  • , Jerald Radich
  • Charles G. Mullighan, Todd R. Golub, Poul H. Sorensen, George Q. Daley

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Multiple members of the let-7 family of miRNAs are often repressed in human cancers, thereby promoting oncogenesis by derepressing targets such as HMGA2, K-Ras and c-Myc. However, the mechanism by which let-7 miRNAs are coordinately repressed is unclear. The RNA-binding proteins LIN28 and LIN28B block let-7 precursors from being processed to mature miRNAs, suggesting that their overexpression might promote malignancy through repression of let-7. Here we show that LIN28 and LIN28B are overexpressed in primary human tumors and human cancer cell lines (overall frequency 15%), and that overexpression is linked to repression of let-7 family miRNAs and derepression of let-7 targets. LIN28 and LIN28b facilitate cellular transformation in vitro, and overexpression is associated with advanced disease across multiple tumor types. Our work provides a mechanism for the coordinate repression of let-7 miRNAs observed in a subset of human cancers, and associates activation of LIN28 and LIN28B with poor clinical prognosis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)843-848
Number of pages6
JournalNature Genetics
Volume41
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished or Issued - Jul 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Genetics

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