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. 2012 Jan 31:3:6.
doi: 10.3389/fgene.2012.00006. eCollection 2012.

PAX Genes in Cancer; Friends or Foes?

Caiyun G Li  1 , Michael R Eccles
Affiliations

PAX Genes in Cancer; Friends or Foes?

Caiyun G Li et al. Front Genet. .

Abstract

PAX genes have been shown to be critically required for the development of specific tissues and organs during embryogenesis. In addition, PAX genes are expressed in a handful of adult tissues where they are thought to play important roles, usually different from those in embryogenesis. A common theme in adult tissues is a requirement for PAX gene expression in adult stem cell maintenance or tissue regeneration. The connections between adult stem cell PAX gene expression and cancer are intriguing, and the literature is replete with examples of PAX gene expression in either situation. Here we systematically review the literature and present an overview of postnatal PAX gene expression in normal and cancerous tissue. We discuss the potential link between PAX gene expression in adult tissue and cancer. In addition, we discuss whether persistent PAX gene expression in cancer is favorable or unfavorable.

Keywords: PAX; cancer; cell cycle; differentiation; proliferation; stem cell.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Representation of sequence similarities between the Pax genes, and their possible evolution. It is thought that the Pax4 and Pax6 genes are derived from an early ancestral Pax gene, and that from this ancestral Pax gene the ancestor of the Pax2, Pax5, and Pax8 genes was subsequently derived, followed by the ancestors of the Pax3 and Pax7 genes, and the Pax1 and Pax9 genes (Miller, 1999).
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