Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026

HOX Loci Focused CRISPR/sgRNA Library Screening Identifying Critical CTCF Boundaries
Published on: March 31, 2019
HOXC9 links cell-cycle exit and neuronal differentiation and is a prognostic marker in neuroblastoma
Ling Mao1, Jane Ding, Yunhong Zha
1Cancer Center and Department of Pathology, Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta, Georgia 30912, USA.
Abstract:
Differentiation status in neuroblastoma strongly affects clinical outcomes and inducing differentiation is a treatment strategy in this disease. However, the molecular mechanisms that control neuroblastoma differentiation are not well understood. Here, we show that high-level HOXC9 expression is associated with neuroblastoma differentiation and is prognostic for better survival in neuroblastoma patients. HOXC9 induces growth arrest and neuronal differentiation in neuroblastoma cells by directly targeting both cell-cycle-promoting and neuronal differentiation genes. HOXC9 expression is upregulated by retinoic acid (RA), and knockdown of HOXC9 expression confers resistance to RA-induced growth arrest and differentiation. Moreover, HOXC9 expression is epigenetically silenced in RA-resistant neuroblastoma cells, and forced HOXC9 expression is sufficient to inhibit their proliferation and tumorigenecity. These findings identified HOXC9 as a key regulator of neuroblastoma differentiation and suggested a therapeutic strategy for RA-resistant neuroblastomas through epigenetic activation of HOXC9 expression.
Related Concept Videos
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
The Retinoblastoma Gene
The first-ever tumor suppressor gene called Rb was identified in retinoblastoma - a rare eye tumor in children. In inherited forms of the disease, a child inherits one defective copy of the Rb gene, which predisposes them to retinoblastoma. However,...
Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...
Positive Regulator Molecules
Negative Regulator Molecules

