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The Enigmatic HOX Genes: Can We Crack Their Code?
Homeobox genes (HOX) are a large family of transcription factors that direct the formation of many body structures during early embryonic development. There are 39 genes in the subgroup of homeobox genes that constitute the human HOX gene family. Correct embryonic development of flies and vertebrate...
Autores principales: | , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2019
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6468460/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30866492 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers11030323 |
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author | Luo, Zhifei Rhie, Suhn K. Farnham, Peggy J. |
author_facet | Luo, Zhifei Rhie, Suhn K. Farnham, Peggy J. |
author_sort | Luo, Zhifei |
collection | PubMed |
description | Homeobox genes (HOX) are a large family of transcription factors that direct the formation of many body structures during early embryonic development. There are 39 genes in the subgroup of homeobox genes that constitute the human HOX gene family. Correct embryonic development of flies and vertebrates is, in part, mediated by the unique and highly regulated expression pattern of the HOX genes. Disruptions in these fine-tuned regulatory mechanisms can lead to developmental problems and to human diseases such as cancer. Unfortunately, the molecular mechanisms of action of the HOX family of transcription factors are severely under-studied, likely due to idiosyncratic details of their structure, expression, and function. We suggest that a concerted and collaborative effort to identify interacting protein partners, produce genome-wide binding profiles, and develop HOX network inhibitors in a variety of human cell types will lead to a deeper understanding of human development and disease. Within, we review the technological challenges and possible approaches needed to achieve this goal. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-6468460 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2019 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-64684602019-04-24 The Enigmatic HOX Genes: Can We Crack Their Code? Luo, Zhifei Rhie, Suhn K. Farnham, Peggy J. Cancers (Basel) Review Homeobox genes (HOX) are a large family of transcription factors that direct the formation of many body structures during early embryonic development. There are 39 genes in the subgroup of homeobox genes that constitute the human HOX gene family. Correct embryonic development of flies and vertebrates is, in part, mediated by the unique and highly regulated expression pattern of the HOX genes. Disruptions in these fine-tuned regulatory mechanisms can lead to developmental problems and to human diseases such as cancer. Unfortunately, the molecular mechanisms of action of the HOX family of transcription factors are severely under-studied, likely due to idiosyncratic details of their structure, expression, and function. We suggest that a concerted and collaborative effort to identify interacting protein partners, produce genome-wide binding profiles, and develop HOX network inhibitors in a variety of human cell types will lead to a deeper understanding of human development and disease. Within, we review the technological challenges and possible approaches needed to achieve this goal. MDPI 2019-03-07 /pmc/articles/PMC6468460/ /pubmed/30866492 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers11030323 Text en © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Review Luo, Zhifei Rhie, Suhn K. Farnham, Peggy J. The Enigmatic HOX Genes: Can We Crack Their Code? |
title | The Enigmatic HOX Genes: Can We Crack Their Code? |
title_full | The Enigmatic HOX Genes: Can We Crack Their Code? |
title_fullStr | The Enigmatic HOX Genes: Can We Crack Their Code? |
title_full_unstemmed | The Enigmatic HOX Genes: Can We Crack Their Code? |
title_short | The Enigmatic HOX Genes: Can We Crack Their Code? |
title_sort | enigmatic hox genes: can we crack their code? |
topic | Review |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6468460/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30866492 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers11030323 |
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