title: IMPs: an RNA-binding protein family that provides a link between stem cell maintenance in normal development and cancer.
abstract: IMPs, also known as insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) messenger RNA (mRNA)-binding proteins (IGF2BPs), are highly conserved oncofetal RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) that regulate RNA processing at several levels, including localization, translation, and stability. Three mammalian IMP paralogs (IMP1-3) have been identified that are expressed in most organs during embryogenesis, where they are believed to play an important role in cell migration, metabolism, and stem cell renewal. Whereas some IMP2 expression is retained in several adult mouse organs, IMP1 and IMP3 are either absent or expressed at very low levels in most tissues after birth. However, all three paralogs can be re-expressed upon malignant transformation and are found in a broad range of cancer types where their expression often correlates with poor prognosis. IMPs appear to resume their physiological functions in malignant cells, which not only contribute to tumor progression but participate in the establishment and maintenance of tumor cell hierarchies. This review summarizes our current understanding of the functions of IMPs during normal development and focuses on a series of recent observations that have provided new insight into how their physiological functions enable IMPs to play a potentially key role in cancer stem cell maintenance and tumor growth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois/University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Degrauwe
authors.affiliation: Molecular Pathology Unit, Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Mario-Luca
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Suvà
authors.affiliation: Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Michalina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Janiszewska
authors.affiliation: Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois/University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nicolo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Riggi
authors.affiliation: Experimental Pathology Service, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois/University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stamenkovic
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional / Q000235:genetics; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins
keywords: IGF2BP; IMP; RNA binding proteins; cancer; let-7; stem cells