Background information
The LIM-only (LMO) proteins, LMO1 and LMO2, are nuclear factors that are characterized by a conserved LIM domain (1). The LIM domain consists of a cysteine-rich zinc-binding motif that is present in a variety of transcription factors, including the LIM homeobox (LHX) proteins expressed in the central nervous system and involved in cell differentiation (2). LMO1 and LMO2 are expressed in the adult CNS in a cell type-specific manner, where they are differentially regulated by neuronal activity and are involved in regulating the cellular differentiated phenotype of neurons (3). LMO2 lacks a specific DNA-binding homeobox domain but rather assembles into transcriptional regulatory complexes to mediate gene expression by interacting with the widely expressed nuclear LIM interactor (NLI) (4). NLI, known also as CLIM-1, and the related protein CLIM-2 facilitate the formation of heteromeric LIM complexes and also enhance the nuclear retention of LIM proteins (5). LMO2 and the related protein LMO4 are expressed in thymic precursor cells (6). LMO4 is also expressed in mature T cells, cranial neural crest cells, somite, dorsal limb bud mesenchyme, motor neurons, and Schwann cell progenitors (7).
