Hox genes are well known for their key contribution to the establishment of the body architecture. This function relies on both local and long-range cis-regulatory elements that generate nested expression patterns of the various Hox genes along the anterior–posterior axis of the developing embryo. Interestingly, analyses of expression patterns in different species suggested that modulation of t...

Hox genes are well known for their key contribution to the establishment of the body architecture. This function relies on both local and long-range cis-regulatory elements that generate nested expression patterns of the various Hox genes along the anterior–posterior axis of the developing embryo. Interestingly, analyses of expression patterns in different species suggested that modulation of t...

A goal of evolutionary developmental biology is to understand the genetic changes, and subsequent changes in developmental programs, which underlie body plan evolution. In PNAS, Guerreiro et al. (1) characterize genetic variation that likely contributes to the homogenization of the vertebral column in snakes. The authors identify a polymorphism in the regulatory region of the Myogenic factor 5 ...

BACKGROUND The HOXA10 homeobox gene controls embryonic uterine development and adult endometrial receptivity. The three-amino-acid loop extension (TALE) family homeobox genes like myeloid ecotropic viral integration site 1 (MEIS) provide enhanced target gene activation and specificity in HOX-regulated cellular processes by acting as HOX cofactors. METHODS AND RESULTS Analysis of an Affymetrix...

Homeobox (HOX) family genes encode key transcription factors for embryogenesis and may be correlated with carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether aberrant expression of HOX genes influences outcomes in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Gene expression data and clinicopathologic information from 630 patients with EOC were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. We...

Hox genes are well known for their key contribution to the establishment of the body architecture. This function relies on both local and long-range cis-regulatory elements that generate nested expression patterns of the various Hox genes along the anterior–posterior axis of the developing embryo. Interestingly, analyses of expression patterns in different species suggested that modulation of t...

Appropriate regulation of regional uterine stromal cell decidualization in implantation, at the mesometrial triangle and secondary decidual zone (SDZ) locations, is critical for successful pregnancy, although the regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this regard, the available animal models that would specifically allow mechanistic analysis of site-specific decidualization are stri...

Gastric cancer (GC), one of the most common human cancers, can be classified into gastric or intestinal phenotype according to mucin expression. TP53 mutation, allelic deletion of the APC gene and nuclear staining of β-catenin are frequently detected in the intestinal phenotype of GC, whereas CDH1 gene mutation, microsatellite instability and DNA hypermethylation of MLH1 are common events in th...