Schilham M W, Clevers H
Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Leiden, The Netherlands.
Semin Immunol. 1998 Apr;10(2):127-32. doi: 10.1006/smim.1998.0114.
The identification of the mammalian sex-determining gene Sry has led to the discovery of a large family of related ('HMG box') transcription factors that control developmental events in yeast, C. elegans, Drosophila and vertebrates. In lymphocyte differentiation, several HMG box proteins play a decisive role. Sox-4 is important for very early B-cell differentiation, while TCF-1/LEF-1 play a crucial role in early thymocyte development. TCF/LEF proteins have recently been found to constitute a downstream component of the Wingless/Wnt signal transduction pathway. In flies, this pathway controls segment polarity; in Xenopus it controls the definition of the body axis. Deregulation of the pathway occurs in several human tumors. These insights in the molecular events that are involved in TCF/LEF function in these organisms may eventually lead to the understanding of the function of these HMG box proteins in lymphoid development.
哺乳动物性别决定基因Sry的鉴定，促成了一个相关的（“HMG盒”）转录因子大家族的发现，这些转录因子控制着酵母、秀丽隐杆线虫、果蝇和脊椎动物的发育过程。在淋巴细胞分化过程中，几种HMG盒蛋白发挥着决定性作用。Sox-4对早期B细胞分化很重要，而TCF-1/LEF-1在早期胸腺细胞发育中起关键作用。最近发现，TCF/LEF蛋白构成无翅型/翼状螺旋转录因子（Wingless/Wnt）信号转导通路的一个下游组分。在果蝇中，该通路控制体节极性；在非洲爪蟾中，它控制体轴的确定。该通路的失调在几种人类肿瘤中都会出现。对这些生物体中涉及TCF/LEF功能的分子事件的这些见解，最终可能会让人理解这些HMG盒蛋白在淋巴样发育中的功能。
