Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Sep;12(3):1635-1641.
doi: 10.3892/ol.2016.4901. Epub 2016 Jul 21.

The function of homeobox genes and lncRNAs in cancer

Yingchao Wang  1 , Yuan Dang  2 , Jingfeng Liu  1 , Xiaojuan Ouyang  2
Affiliations

The function of homeobox genes and lncRNAs in cancer

Yingchao Wang et al. Oncol Lett. 2016 Sep.

Abstract

Recently, the homeobox (HOX) gene family has been reported as a factor in tumorigenesis. In the human genome, the HOX gene family contains 4 clusters with 39 genes and multiple transcripts. Mutation or abnormal expression of genes is responsible for developmental disorders. In addition, changes in the levels and activation of certain HOX genes has been associated with the development of cancer. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have also been identified to serve critical functions in cancer. Although a limited number of lncRNAs have been previously investigated, the list of functional lncRNA genes has recently grown. Two of the most important and well-studied lncRNAs and HOX transcript genes are HOX transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) and HOXA distal transcript antisense RNA (HOTTIP). The present study aimed to review not only the function of the HOTAIR and HOTTIP genes in certain forms of cancer, but also to review other HOX genes and protein functions in cancer, particularly HOX family genes associated with lncRNAs.

Keywords: homeobox A; homeobox genes; proliferation; transcript.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Associations between HOX gene clusters and long non-coding RNA. HOX, homeobox; Chr, chromosome; MIR. microRNA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Pearson JC, Lemons D, McGinnis W. Modulating Hox gene functions during animal body patterning. Nat Rev Genet. 2005;6:893–904. doi: 10.1038/nrg1726. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lawrence PA, Morata G. Homeobox genes: Their function in Drosophila segmentation and pattern formation. Cell. 1994;78:181–189. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(94)90289-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Holland PW, Booth HA, Bruford EA. Classification and nomenclature of all human homeobox genes. BMC Biol. 2007;5:47. doi: 10.1186/1741-7007-5-47. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Duboule D. Vertebrate Hox genes and proliferation: An alternative pathway to homeosis? Curr Opin Genet Dev. 1995;5:525–528. doi: 10.1016/0959-437X(95)90058-O. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Peverali FA, D'Esposito M, Acampora D, Bunone G, Negri M, Faiella A, Stornaiuolo A, Pannese M, Migliaccio E, Simeone A, et al. Expression of HOX homeogenes in human neuroblastoma cell culture lines. Differentiation. 1990;45:61–69. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-0436.1990.tb00458.x. - DOI - PubMed