Gene expression profiling of HOX genes family in a panel of 70 cancer cell lines

Abstract

Hox genes are a subset of the Homeobox family, which are characterized by high degree of conservation among fungi, plants and animals. In mammals, Hox genes are subdivided into four genetic groups or clusters: HOXA, HOXB, HOXC, and HOXD, located on chromosomes 2, 7, 17 and 12, respectively. To date 39 HOX genes have been identified, which acts in embryonic development as regulating biological processes as proliferation, differentiation, migration, angiogenesis and apoptosis. These processes are reactivated during carcinogenesis and regulated by genetic programs that include the Hox genes. Recent studies indicate that Hox genes may play an important role in several types of cancer1,2,3,4,5. These studies join others that use tumor cell lines to characterize the function of genes during cancer development6. In this sense, this project aims to assess the expression profile of Hox genes into a tumor cell lines panel to identify which strains would be more suitable for functional studies of Hox genes.