Takahashi Yoko, Hamada Jun-ichi, Murakawa Katsuhiko, Takada Minoru, Tada Mitsuhiro, Nogami Ikuko, Hayashi Nobuyasu, Nakamori Shoji, Monden Morito, Miyamoto Masaki, Katoh Hiroyuki, Moriuchi Tetsuya
Division of Cancer-Related Genes, Institute for Genetic Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Exp Cell Res. 2004 Feb 1;293(1):144-53. doi: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2003.09.024.
HOX genes are well known as master control genes in embryonic morphogenesis. We hypothesized that HOX genes give cells spatial information to maintain tissue- or organ-specificity in adult body and that the deregulated expression of HOX genes results in tumor development. We established a comprehensive analysis system to quantify expression of 39 human HOX genes based on the real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) method. Analysis of 39 HOX genes of 20 normal adult organs by this system revealed that 5' HOX genes were expressed in organs in the caudal parts of the body, and that the more caudal regions the more numbers of HOX genes were expressed. It was also found that the expression patterns of HOX genes were more similar in the adjacent genes on the same cluster rather than in those belonging to the same paralogs. Compared with normal thyroid tissues, thyroid cancer cell lines showed the altered expression of some HOX genes, especially Abd-B homeobox family genes. Our results showed that HOX genes were organ-specifically expressed in adult body and that the deregulated expressions of Abd-B family genes were implicated in thyroid tumor development.
HOX基因作为胚胎形态发生中的主控基因广为人知。我们推测，HOX基因赋予细胞空间信息以维持成体中组织或器官的特异性，并且HOX基因的表达失调会导致肿瘤发生。我们基于实时逆转录PCR（RT-PCR）方法建立了一个综合分析系统，用于定量39个人类HOX基因的表达。通过该系统对20种正常成体器官的39个HOX基因进行分析发现，5' HOX基因在身体尾部的器官中表达，并且身体区域越靠尾端，表达的HOX基因数量越多。还发现，HOX基因在同一基因簇中的相邻基因间的表达模式比属于相同旁系同源基因的表达模式更为相似。与正常甲状腺组织相比，甲状腺癌细胞系中一些HOX基因的表达发生了改变，尤其是Abd-B同源框家族基因。我们的结果表明，HOX基因在成体中呈器官特异性表达，并且Abd-B家族基因的表达失调与甲状腺肿瘤发生有关。
