LASP1 encodes a member of a LIM protein subfamily which is characterized by a LIM motif and a domain of Src homology region 3. This protein functions as an actin-binding protein and possibly in cytoskeletal organization.
In breast cancer cell lines, overexpression of the 4 kb MLN50 mRNA was correlated with amplification of the gene and with amplification and overexpression of ERBB2, which maps to the same region. The authors suggested that the 2 genes belong to the same amplicon. Amplification of chromosomal region 17q11-q21 is one of the most common events occurring in human breast cancers.Northern blot analysis revealed that LASP1 mRNA was expressed at a basal level in all normal tissues examined and overexpressed in 8% of primary breast cancers.