Background information
The Hox proteins are a family of transcription factors that play a role in development and cellular differentiation by regulating downstream target genes. Specifically, the Hox proteins direct DNA-protein and protein-protein interactions that assist in determining the morphologic features associated with the anterior-posterior body axis. Hox proteins are involved in controlling axial patterning, leukemias and hereditary malformations. HoxC13 (homeobox C13), also known as HOX3 or HOX3G, is a 330 amino acid protein that contains one homeobox DNA-binding domain and is a member of the Abd-B homeobox family. Localized to the nucleus, HoxC13 functions as a sequence-specific transcription factor that, in conjunction with a variety of other proteins, provides cells with positional identities on their anterior-posterior axis. Via its ability to modify features of the anterior-posterior body axis, HoxC13 is thought to play a role in the development of nails, hair and filiform papilla.
