Hox function and specificity - A tissue centric view

Pedro B Pinto; Katrin Domsch; Ingrid Lohmann

doi:10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.11.011

Hox function and specificity - A tissue centric view

Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2024 Jan-Feb:152-153:35-43. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.11.011. Epub 2022 Dec 12.

Authors

Pedro B Pinto¹, Katrin Domsch², Ingrid Lohmann³

Affiliations

¹ Heidelberg University, Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg, Department of Developmental Biology and Cell Networks - Cluster of Excellence, Heidelberg, Germany; Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, Univ Lyon, CNRS UMR 5242, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France.
² Heidelberg University, Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg, Department of Developmental Biology and Cell Networks - Cluster of Excellence, Heidelberg, Germany.
³ Heidelberg University, Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg, Department of Developmental Biology and Cell Networks - Cluster of Excellence, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: ingrid.lohmann@cos.uni-heidelberg.de.

PMID: 36517344
DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.11.011

Abstract

Since their discovery, the Hox genes, with their incredible power to reprogram the identity of complete body regions, a phenomenon called homeosis, have captured the fascination of many biologists. Recent research has provided new insights into the function of Hox proteins in different germ layers and the mechanisms they employ to control tissue morphogenesis. We focus in this review on the ectoderm and mesoderm to highlight new findings and discuss them with regards to established concepts of Hox target gene regulation. Furthermore, we highlight the molecular mechanisms involved the transcriptional repression of specific groups of Hox target genes, and summarize the role of Hox mediated gene silencing in tissue development. Finally, we reflect on recent findings identifying a large number of tissue-specific Hox interactor partners, which open up new avenues and directions towards a better understanding of Hox function and specificity in different tissues.

Keywords: AP-2; Activation; BiFC; BioID; Dll; Ectoderm; Enhancer; Fat body; Grh; Hox; Interactomes; Mesoderm; Polycomb; Repression; Sal; Specificity; Svb; Tin; Vvl.

Publication types

Review