Lin-28 Homolog B (LIN28B)

LIN28B contains the conserved combination of RNA-binding motifs of the C. elegans lin28 protein, a regulator of developmental timing, and human LIN28: a cold shock domain and a pair of retroviral-type CCHC zinc finger domains. mouse Lin28b, which encodes a predicted 271-amino acid protein that shares approximately 78% sequence identity with human LIN28B. RT-PCR analysis revealed high expression of LIN28B in normal human testis, fetal liver, and placenta,as well as in liver tumors from 9 pairs of tumor/nontumor samples. Northern blot analysis detected a 5.6-kb transcript highly expressed in 6 HCC cell lines. Guo et al. (2006) identified a second LIN28B isoform of 180 amino acids, designated LIN28BS, which was produced by alternative splicing and was present in nontumor liver tissue and fetal liver.