The Hox-2.2 gene is one of a cluster of homeobox-containing genes on mouse chromosome 11. A cDNA clone containing the Hox-2.2 homeobox has been isolated from an adult spinal cord library. Our analysis of the Hox-2.2 cDNA and genomic clones indicates that there are at least two oxons and one intron. The largest open reading frame includes the homeobox and codes for a 224 amino acid protein of mo...

The recent and exciting discovery of germline HOXB13 mutations in familial prostate cancer has brought HOX signaling to the forefront of prostate cancer research. An enhanced understanding of HOX signaling, and the co-factors regulating HOX protein specificity and transcriptional regulation, has the high potential to elucidate novel approaches to prevent, diagnose, stage, and treat prostate can...

Investigating regulation and function of the Hox genes, key regulators of positional identity in the embryo, opened a new vista in developmental biology. One of their most striking features is collinearity: the temporal and spatial orders of expression of these clustered genes each match their 3' to 5' order on the chromosome. Despite recent progress, the mechanisms underlying collinearity are ...

The Hox-1.11 gene encodes a protein 372 amino acid residues long that contains a conserved pentapeptide, a homeodomain, and an acidic region. The amino acid sequence of the homeodomain of Hox-1.11 is identical to that of Hox-2.8, and the N-terminal and C-terminal regions of Hox-1.11 are similar to those of human HOX2H, which is the equivalent of murine Hox-2.8. The Hox-1.11 gene was shown to re...

The mouse Hox 2.1 gene contains a homeobox sequence and is therefore a candidate for a vertebrate gene involved in the control of embryonic patterning or positional specification. To investigate this possibility, we have used in situ hybridization to determine the pattern of Hox 2.1 expression during mouse embryogenesis. At 8.5 days post coitum, Hox 2.1 is expressed at a low level in the poster...

The sequence of a mouse Hox 2.9 cDNA clone is presented. The predicted homeodomain is similar to that of the Drosophila gene labial showing 80% identity. The equivalent gene in the Hox 1 cluster is Hox 1.6 which shows extensive similarity to Hox 2.9 both within and outside the homeodomain. Hox 2.9 and Hox 1.6 are the only two mouse members of the labial-like family of homeobox-containing genes ...

Duplications of Hox gene clusters have been suggested as a mechanism whereby new Hox functions can be developed while preserving critical ancestral roles. However, in tetrapods, particularly in mammals, there is great variability in limb structure morphologies that are known to be affected by Hox genes without further Hox cluster duplications. The lack of further duplications suggests that if H...

Most animals exhibit distinctive and diverse morphological features on their anterior-posterior body axis. However, underneath the variation in design and developmental strategies lies a shared ancient structural blueprint that is based on the expression patterns of Hox genes. Both the establishment and maintenance of the spatial and temporal distribution of Hox transcripts play an important ro...

A polyclonal antibody, alpha Hox 2.1a, was used to localize Hox 2.1 protein in presumptive neural crest cells and nodose ganglion of 8.5-10.0 day p.c. mouse embryos. The following results were obtained: (1) The nodose placode, in its epithelial state, first expresses Hox 2.1 protein at 9.0 d.p.c. By 9.5 d.p.c. presumptive migrating neuroblasts between the nodose placode and ganglion primordium ...