HOXB homeobox gene expression in cervical carcinoma

Abstract

The homeobox (HOX) genes are a family of transcription factors that bind to specific DNA sequences in target genes regulating gene expression. Thirty-nine HOX genes have been mapped in four conserved clusters: A, B, C, and D; they act as master genes regulating the identity of body segments along the anteroposterior axis of the embryo. The role played by HOX genes in adult cell differentiation is unclear to date, but growing evidence suggests that they may play an important role in the development of cancer. To study the role played by HOX genes in cervical cancer, in the present work, we analyzed the expression of HOXB genes and the localization of their transcripts in human cervical tissues. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis and nonradioactive RNA in situ hybridization were used to detect HOXB expression in 11 normal cervical tissues and 17 cervical carcinomas. It was determined that HOXB1, B3, B5, B6, B7, B8, and B9 genes are expressed in normal adult cervical epithelium and squamous cervical carcinomas. Interestingly, HOXB2, HOXB4, and HOXB13 gene expression was found only in tumor tissues. Our findings suggest that the new expression of HOXB2, HOXB4, and B13 genes is involved in cervical cancer.

The role of HOXB2 and HOXB3 in acute myeloid leukemia

“…We observed that overexpression of HOXB2 in Ba/F3 cells expressing FLT3-ITD resulted in negative regulation of FLT3-ITD-induced signaling as well as the corresponding biological outcomes such as cell proliferation and colony formation and enhancement of apoptosis. Although our observation in Ba/F3 cells in line with the observation in breast cancer cell lines [29], other studies in cervical cancer [30], lung adenocarcinomas [31] and pancreatic cancer [32] suggest overexpression of HOXB2 was associated with cancer progression. Therefore, we suggest that role of HOXB2 in cancer is context dependent.…”

HOXB13 promotes ovarian cancer progression

“…In preliminary functional studies, we demonstrated that ectopic expression of HOXB13 in a nontransformed human mammary epithelial cell confers increased cell migration and invasion, two characteristics associated with tumor aggressiveness (10). Consistent with a possible role in human tumorigenesis, others have recently shown that HOXB13 is overexpressed in human endometrial, ovarian, and cervical carcinomas and that overexpression of HOXB13 is associated with the invasiveness of ovarian and endometrial cancer cells (11)(12)(13). Collectively, these observations suggest that HOXB13 may play an important role in tumors arising from endocrine-responsive organs.…”

Exploring the two-gene ratio in breast cancer—independent roles for HOXB13 and IL17BR in prediction of clinical outcome

“…The implication of the HOXB13 gene product in different types of cancer is beginning to be elucidated. It has been proposed as a marker for prostate cancer [18], and is also believed to be involved in endometrial cancer [19], cervical cancer [20], as well as renal cell carcinoma [21], and colorectal cancer [22]. In human cutaneous malignant melanoma with distant metastasis, the expression level of certain HOX genes, including HOXB13, was higher than in those melanoma patients without metastases [23], and in endometrial cancer cells, antisense-transfection of the HOXB13 gene reduced the invasive ability of the cells [19].…”