HOX genes have emerged as critical effectors of leukemogenesis, but the mechanisms that regulate their expression in leukemia are not well understood. Recent data suggest that the caudal homeobox transcription factors CDX1, CDX2, and CDX4, developmental regulators of HOX gene expression, may contribute to HOX gene dysregulation in leukemia. We report here that CDX4 is expressed normally in earl...

The murine homeobox-containing gene Hox-3.2 is the most 5' member of the Hox-3 complex on chromosome 15 isolated to date. Conceptual translation of the longest ORF gives a protein of 260 amino acids lacking the conserved hexapeptide found in most homeobox genes. Northern analysis detects three transcripts of 1.5, 1.9 and 3.2 kb in day 9 to 15 p.c. embryos. As early as day 8.5 p.c., transcripts ...

It is now clear that the homeobox motif is well conserved across metazoan phyla. It has been established experimentally that a subset of genes containing this motif plays key roles in the orchestration of gene expression during development. Auto- and cross-regulatory functional interactions join homeobox genes into genetic networks. We have developed a specialized database HOX-Pro in order to a...

Hox genes are a group of genes that specify structures along the anteroposterior axis in bilaterians. Although in many cases they do so by modifying a homologous structure with a different (or no) Hox input, there are also examples of Hox genes constructing new organs with no homology in other regions of the body. Hox genes determine structures though the regulation of targets implementing cell...

There are many genes involved in vitamin D dependent differentiation of acute myeloid leukaemia cell line HL-60 cells. Involvement of HOX genes in leukaemia and differentiation is just beginning to be appreciated. In order to understand the relationship with 1,25(OH)2D3 dependent differentiation of myeloid leukaemia, we studied the expression of HOX A9 gene. HL-60 cells were exposed to 1,25(OH)...

We show here that expression of Hoxa10 in the presomitic mesoderm is sufficient to confer a Hox group 10 patterning program to the somite, producing vertebrae without ribs, an effect not achieved when Hoxa10 is expressed in the somites. In addition, Hox group 11-dependent vertebral sacralization requires Hoxa11 expression in the presomitic mesoderm, while their caudal differentiation requires t...

SYNOPSIS. The Hox genes are widely regarded as candidates for involvement in major evolutionary changes in body plan organization. We examine Hox gene expression data for several taxa, in relation to recent work on the polychaete annelid Chaetopterus. The work in Chaetopterus shows the basic conservation of colinearity of anterior expression boundaries seen in other groups. It also reveals nove...

Adult Drosophila walk using six multi-jointed legs, each controlled by ∼50 leg motoneurons (MNs). Although MNs have stereotyped morphologies, little is known about how they are specified. Here, we describe the function of Hox genes and homothorax (hth), which encodes a Hox co-factor, in Drosophila leg MN development. Removing either Hox or Hth function from a single neuroblast (NB) lineage resu...

Angiogenesis is characterized by distinct phenotypic changes in vascular endothelial cells (EC). Evidence is provided that the Hox D3 homeobox gene mediates conversion of endothelium from the resting to the angiogenic/invasive state. Stimulation of EC with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) resulted in increased expression of Hox D3, integrin alphavbeta3, and the urokinase plasminogen activa...

In the developing spinal cord, regional and combinatorial activities of Hox transcription factors are critical in controlling motor neuron fates along the rostrocaudal axis, exemplified by the precise pattern of limb innervation by more than fifty Hox-dependent motor pools. The mechanisms by which motor neuron diversity is constrained to limb levels are, however, not well understood. We show th...