DND1 (DND microRNA-mediated repression inhibitor 1)

DND1 is a RNA binding protein. Initially identified in the zebrafish, where knockdown of dnd in the early embryo resulted in loss of primordial germ cells (Weidinger et al., 2003). Mutations in Dnd1 in mice and rats, thought to result in expression of a truncated DND1 protein, are oncogenic and result in germ cell depletion as well as germ cell tumors (Youngren et al., 2005; Northrup et al., 2012). DND1 is required for the survival of primordial germ cells during early development. Primordial germ cells are the stem cells from which germ cell tumors arise (Stevens, 1967). Total deficiency of DND1 in mice results in early embryonic lethality (Zechel et al., 2013). In humans, mutations and deregulation of DND1 expression have been reported in testicular cancer as well as other types of cancers (Bhandari et al., 2012; Linger et al., 2008; Liu et al., 2010; Sijmons et al., 2010). One function of DND1 is as a translational regulator (Kedde et al., 2007)