Murine Hox-1.11 homeobox gene structure and expression

The Hox-1.11 gene encodes a protein 372 amino acid residues long that contains a conserved pentapeptide, a homeodomain, and an acidic region. The amino acid sequence of the homeodomain of Hox-1.11 is identical to that of Hox-2.8, and the N-terminal and C-terminal regions of Hox-1.11 are similar to those of human HOX2H, which is the equivalent of murine Hox-2.8. The Hox-1.11 gene was shown to reside on murine chromosome 6, which contains the Hox-1 cluster of homeobox genes. One species of Hox-1.11 poly(A)+ RNA approximately 1.7 kb long was detected in mouse embryos, which is most abundant in 12-day-old embryos and progressively decreases during further embryonic development. The most anterior expression of Hox-1.11 poly(A)+ RNA in 12- to 14-day-old mouse embryos was shown by in situ hybridization to be in the mid and posterior hindbrain. Hox-1.11 poly(A)+ RNA also is expressed in the VII and VIII cranial ganglia, spinal cord, spinal ganglia, larynx, lungs, vertebrae, sternum, and intestine.