Langston A W, Gudas L J
Program in Cell and Development Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
Curr Opin Genet Dev. 1994 Aug;4(4):550-5. doi: 10.1016/0959-437x(94)90071-a.
Hox genes have been shown to be important regulators of pattern formation in vertebrates. Retinoic acid has been shown to affect the expression of Hox genes in vitro and in vivo, and some of its effects on development correspond to changes in Hox gene expression. The idea that retinoic acid is not simply a powerful pharmocological agent, but rather that it plays an important role in creating the normal expression patterns of Hox genes, is provided by the recent identification of retinoic acid responsive enhancers near Hox genes.
已证明Hox基因是脊椎动物模式形成的重要调节因子。维甲酸已被证明在体外和体内都会影响Hox基因的表达，其对发育的一些影响与Hox基因表达的变化相对应。最近在Hox基因附近发现了维甲酸反应增强子，这表明维甲酸不仅仅是一种强大的药理剂，而是在创建Hox基因的正常表达模式中发挥重要作用。
