Lin28 is a highly conserved RNA binding protein that regulates stemness whose molecular role has been widely studied in vitro. However, the regulation and the molecular role of Lin28 during the development of the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) in vivo are not completely understood. Here, the expression and the putative role of Lin28 in the development of the mammalian CNS are reviewed in the context of recent results showing the progressive cellular and molecular changes in neural progenitor cells. Downstream genes that may play a role during CNS development and the effect of misregulated expression of Lin28 are discussed. Evidence suggests that Lin28 promotes symmetric divisions over asymmetric divisions, increasing the number of progenitors during early neurogenesis. Future quantitative analysis of Lin28 isoforms levels and stabilities together with single cell transcriptomics data, cell cycle dynamics and cell fate analysis in Lin28 gain- and loss-of-function experiments will provide a better understanding of the molecular role of Lin28 during development.
Keywords: Central nervous system; Cerebral cortex; Developmental timing; Differentiation; Heterochronic genes; Let-7; Lin28; Neural progenitor cells; Proliferation.
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