Functional analysis, expression and mutation of homeobox gene (HOXB7) in pancreatic adenocarcinomas

Abstract

Homeobox genes are known as genes controlling development and morphogenesis, because they act at the top of the genetic hierarchy regulating key aspects of embryogenesis, cell differentiation and morphogenesis in a number of organisms. Currently, the role of these genes in development and tumor progression has been extensively studied. Several findings have confirmed the role of deregulated expression of some HOX family members in several tumors, however, in pancreatic tumors no study evaluated the effect of HOXB7 gene. In a preliminary analysis conducted by our group, we observed that the mRNA of the gene HOXB7 were hyper-expressed in a strain of human pancreatic carcinoma (MiaPaCa-2). This study aims to: (1) identify the pattern of expression of HOXB7 gene in pancreatic tumors and normal tissue (2) identify possible gene amplification in tumor tissues (3) track possible mutations that may be crucial for the gene disruption (4) Knock down the HOXB7 gene by RNAi in the lineage of human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells and analyzing the impact of gene expression and cell proliferation (AU)