Cell fate regulation by LIN41: activity determined by binding location

Helge Großhans and his group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) have elucidated the mode of action of the RNA-binding protein and stem cell factor LIN41. In an animal model, they showed that LIN41 silences four specific mRNAs, by two distinct mechanisms. They found that the choice of mechanism is determined by where on the mRNA LIN41 binds. As the proteins whose production LIN41 inhibits are responsible for cell maturation, these new findings could be relevant for future stem cell therapies. A cocktail of four proteins is sufficient to reprogram skin cells so that they become pluripotent stem cells. The mixture of proteins discovered in 2006 by the Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka reawakens cellular capacities lost during development. For this discovery - which has major potential for regenerative medicine - Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012.