HOXB2 Antibody

Hox genes play a fundamental role in the development of the vertebrate central nervous system, heart, axial skeleton, limbs, gut, urogenital tract and external genitalia. The homeobox gene HoxB1 is critical to hindbrain development and has phenotypic features frequently observed in autism. Analysis of expression and targeted disruption of HoxB1 demonstrates that it is also essential for patterning progenitor cells along the entire DV axis of rhombomere 4 (r4). HoxB1 maintains this function by acting very early during hindbrain neurogenesis to specify effectors of the Sonic hedgehog and Mash1 signaling pathways. HoxB2 is a homeodomain protein important in neural development that is also expressed during erythropoiesis, hindbrain development and normal human adult lung development. HoxB2 may modulate the amount of gamma-globin mRNA expressed during development and differentiation. In addition, HoxB2 plays an important role in the patterning of hindbrain and pharyngeal arches in the zebrafish.