Hox

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a formidable global health concern with a dire prognosis, highlighting the critical need for early detection strategies. This systematic review delves into the potential of salivary biomarkers as a non-invasive means for identifying PDAC at its incipient stages. Saliva's proximity to the circulatory system enables the detection of tumor-derived biomolecules, making it an ideal candidate for mass screening. The analysis of three selected studies reveals promising candidates such as Neisseria mucosa, Fusobacterium periodonticum, polyamines, and specific long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)...

The chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic properties of soy and soy-derived compounds, especially isoflavones, have been extensively studied in recent years. However, in contrast to their anticancer effects, such as cell growth inhibition, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction, isoflavones have also been found to promote the growth of cancer cells. Therefore, the aim of this comprehensive review article is to present the current state of knowledge regarding the molecular mechanisms by which soy-derived isoflavones target multiple cellular signalling pathways in cancer cells...

BACKGROUND: Homeobox (HOX) A11 antisense RNA (HOXA11-AS) has been identified as a cancer promoting lncRNA and is overexpressed in nephroblastoma. However, how HOXA11-AS is regulated in a hypoxic inflammatory environment has not been studied. METHODS: In this study, gene expression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) ability were detected in the nephroblastoma cell line WiT49 under conditions of hypoxia and inflammation. Next, HOXA11-AS transcription factors were predicted by datasets and subsequently confirmed by CHIP-QPCR, EMSA, and dual-luciferase reporter assays...

This study was aimed to investigate the preventive effects of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) against renal tubular cell injury induced by oxalate and stone formation and further explore the related mechanism. Transcriptome sequencing combined with bioinformatics analysis were performed to identify differentially expressed gene (DEG) and related pathways. HK-2 cells were pretreated with or without antioxidant NAC/with or silencing DEG before exposed to sodium oxalate. Then, the cell viability, oxidative biomarkers of superoxidase dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA), apoptosis and cell cycle were measured through CCK8, ELISA and flow cytometry assay, respectively...

BACKGROUND: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a highly prevalent airway disease worldwide. Whereas eosinophilic CRS with nasal polyps (eCRSwNP) represents its most severe phenotype, pathogenic mechanisms remain poorly understood despite a wide spectrum of in vitro and in vivo experimental models. A mouse model of experimental ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airway allergy with coadministration of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B (SEB) has been widely used to study eosinophilic eCRSwNP. This study revisits the features of this model and its suitability for studying eCRS...

Over the past 25 years, the field of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) has used genomics and genetics to gain insight on the developmental mechanisms underlying the evolution of morphological diversity of animals. Evo-devo exploits the key insight that conserved toolkits of development (e.g. Hox genes) are used in animals to produce genetic novelties that provide adaptation to a new environment. Like development, immunity is forged by interactions with the environment, namely the microbial world...

Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) as an emerging tumor biomarker plays a key factor in the early diagnosis of cancer. Herein, an innovative signal-switchable photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensor based on ZrO2 @CuO bimetallic oxides and T7 Exo-assisted signal amplification is reported for the ultrasensitive and selective detection of lncRNA (HOX gene antisense intergenic RNA, HOTAIR) in cancer cells. Firstly, MOFs-derived TiO2 nanodisks as an excellent photoactive material show an anodic background signal. When target lncRNA exists, the abundant auxiliary DNA1 is freed from T7 Exo-assisted cycle signal amplification, and then competitively hybridizes with auxiliary DNA2 on the electrode...

Myeloid ecotropic virus insertion site 1 ( MEIS1 ) is a HOX co-factor necessary for organ development and normal hematopoiesis. Recently, MEIS1 has been linked to the development and progression of various cancers. However, its role in gliomagenesis particularly on glioma stem cells (GSCs) remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that MEIS1 is highly upregulated in GSCs compared to normal, and glioma cells and to its differentiated counterparts. Inhibition of MEIS1 expression by shRNA significantly reduced GSC growth in both in vitro and in vivo experiments...

Innate immunity functions as a rapid defense against broad classes of pathogenic agents. While the mechanisms of innate immunity in response to antigen exposure are well-studied, how pathogen exposure activates the innate immune responses and the role of genetic variation in immune activity is currently being investigated. Previously we showed significant survival differences between the N2 and CB4856 Caenorhabditis elegans isolates in response to Staphylococcus epidermidis infection. One of those differences was expression of the mab-5 Hox-family transcription factor, which was induced in N2, but not CB4856, after infection...

Filamin B (FLNB) plays an important role in skeletal development. Mutations in FLNB can lead to skeletal malformation such as an abnormal number of ossification centers, indicating that the skeletal segmentation in the embryonic period may be interfered with. We established a mouse model with the pathogenic point mutation FLNB NM_001081427.1: c.4756G > A (p.Gly1586Arg) using CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Micro-CT, HE staining and whole skeletal preparation were performed to examine the skeletal malformation...

As key developmental regulators, HOX cluster genes have varied and context-specific roles in normal and malignant hematopoiesis. A complex interaction of transcription factors, epigenetic regulators, long non-coding RNAs and chromatin structural changes orchestrate HOX expression in leukemia cells. In this review we summarize molecular mechanisms underlying HOX regulation in clinical subsets of AML, with a focus on NPM1 mutated (NPM1mut ) AML comprising a third of all AML patients. While the leukemia initiating function of the NPM1 mutation is clearly dependent on HOX activity, the favorable treatment responses in these patients with upregulation of HOX cluster genes is a poorly understood paradoxical observation...

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The Nuclear Receptor (NR) family of transcriptional regulators possess the ability to sense signalling molecules and directly couple that to a transcriptional response. While this large class of proteins are united by sequence and structural homology, individual NR functional output varies greatly depending on their expression, ligand selectivity and DNA binding sequence specificity. Many NRs have remained somewhat enigmatic, with the absence of a defined ligand categorising them as orphan nuclear receptors...

The modular organization of tetrapod paired limbs and girdles, influenced by the expression of Hox genes is one of the primary driving forces of the evolution of animal locomotion. The increased morphological diversification of the paired limbs is correlated with reduced between-limb covariation, while correlation within the elements is usually higher than between the elements. The tailed amphibians, such as Lissotriton newts, have a biphasic lifestyle with aquatic and terrestrial environments imposing different constraints on limb skeleton...

In social insects, interactions among colony members trigger caste differentiation with morphological modifications. During caste differentiation in termites, body parts and caste-specific morphologies are modified during postembryonic development under endocrine controls such as juvenile hormone and ecdysone. In addition to endocrine factors, developmental toolkit genes like Hox genes and appendage-patterning genes also contribute to the caste-specific body part modifications. These toolkits are thought to provide spatial information for specific morphogenesis...

BACKGROUND: Homeobox ( HOX ) family genes have been identified as regulators of cancer development. No research exists concerning the mechanisms underlying homeobox B8 ( HOXB8 ) activity in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we investigated expression and biological function in NSCLC to determine whether it is an important marker of patient prognosis. METHODS: HOXB8 expression in NSCLC tissues was investigated using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blot assays...

BACKGROUND: Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is a rare and enigmatic oral potentially malignant disorder which almost invariably results in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The aims of this project were to use transcriptome profiling to characterise PVL gene expression patterns for biomarker identification and gain insight into the molecular aetiopathogenesis of PVL. METHODS: Forty-three oral cavity mucosal biopsies from 32 patients with oral lesions clinically compatible with either PVL or non-PVL conventional oral leukoplakia (OLK) underwent transcriptome profiling by RNA sequencing...

Cranial neural crest cells (NCCs) are critical for craniofacial development. The administration of valproic acid (VPA) to pregnant females causes craniofacial malformations in offspring. However, the in vivo influence of VPA on mammalian cranial NCCs remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the developmental stage-specific effect of VPA on cranial NCCs through the administration of a single dose of VPA to pregnant rat females immediately prior to the formation of the cranial neural crest (NC). We performed whole-mount immunohistochemistry or in situ hybridization to examine localization changes of gene transcripts associated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of the cranial NC (i...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the specific pathways by which HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) contributes to the pathogenesis of unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA). METHODS: Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was employed to assess the differential expression levels of HOTAIR in chorionic villi tissues from URSA patients and women with voluntarily terminated pregnancies. HTR-8/SVneo served as a cellular model. Knockdown and overexpression of HOTAIR in the cells were achieved through siRNA transfection and pcDNA3...

Hox genes encode transcription factors whose roles in patterning animal body plans during embryonic development are well-documented. Multiple studies demonstrate that Hox genes continue to act in adult cells, in normal differentiation, in regenerative processes, and, with abnormal expression, in diverse types of cancers. However, surprisingly little is known about the regulatory mechanisms that govern Hox gene expression in specific cell types, as they differentiate during late embryonic development, and in the adult organism...