MicroRNAs: From Female Fertility, Germ Cells, and Stem Cells to Cancer in Humans

Figure 1

Most expressed miRNAs in primordial germ cells [10–19], germ cell tumors [24], and human oocytes [28, 29]. MiR-29b and miR-430 are overlapping between different vertebrate species. MiR302a, upregulated, and Let-7, downregulated, in germ cell tumors are overlapping with miRNAs identified in vertebrate PGCs. The expression of gene LIN28 is essential during normal germ cell development for PGC specification. Tumor-suppressor Let-7 miRNA family is downregulated in malignant germ cell tumors because of abundant expression of the regulatory gene LIN28.