Biology:HOXA2

Short description: Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Generic protein structure example

Homeobox protein Hox-A2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HOXA2 gene.

Function

In vertebrates, the genes encoding the class of transcription factors called homeobox genes are found in clusters named A, B, C, and D on four separate chromosomes. Expression of these proteins is spatially and temporally regulated during embryonic development. This gene is part of the A cluster on chromosome 7 and encodes a DNA-binding transcription factor which may regulate gene expression, morphogenesis, and differentiation. The encoded protein may be involved in the placement of hindbrain segments in the proper location along the anterior-posterior axis during development. Two transcript variants encoding two different isoforms have been found for this gene, with only one of the isoforms containing the homeodomain region.

HOXA2 controls the embryonic development of the lower and middle part of the face and of the middle ear. Mutations in it are known to cause microtia, hearing impairment, and cleft palate.

See also

• Homeobox

Further reading

• "A Mutation in HOXA2 Is Responsible for Autosomal-Recessive Microtia in an Iranian Family". Am. J. Hum. Genet. 82 (4): 982–91. 2008. doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.02.015. PMID 18394579. 
• "Complete mutation analysis panel of the 39 human HOX genes". Teratology 65 (2): 50–62. 2002. doi:10.1002/tera.10009. PMID 11857506. 
• "Human Chromosome 7: DNA Sequence and Biology". Science 300 (5620): 767–72. 2003. doi:10.1126/science.1083423. PMID 12690205. Bibcode: 2003Sci...300..767S. 
• "The DNA sequence of human chromosome 7". Nature 424 (6945): 157–64. 2003. doi:10.1038/nature01782. PMID 12853948. Bibcode: 2003Natur.424..157H. 
• "Complete sequencing and characterization of 21,243 full-length human cDNAs". Nat. Genet. 36 (1): 40–5. 2004. doi:10.1038/ng1285. PMID 14702039. 
• "Generation and initial analysis of more than 15,000 full-length human and mouse cDNA sequences". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99 (26): 16899–903. 2002. doi:10.1073/pnas.242603899. PMID 12477932. Bibcode: 2002PNAS...9916899M. 
• Scott MP (1992). "Vertebrate homeobox gene nomenclature". Cell 71 (4): 551–3. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(92)90588-4. PMID 1358459. 
• "High-Density Association Study of 383 Candidate Genes for Volumetric BMD at the Femoral Neck and Lumbar Spine Among Older Men". J. Bone Miner. Res. 24 (12): 2039–49. 2009. doi:10.1359/jbmr.090524. PMID 19453261. 
• "Fine mapping of human HOX gene clusters". Cytogenet. Cell Genet. 73 (1–2): 114–5. 1996. doi:10.1159/000134320. PMID 8646877.