The T-box gene family: emerging roles in development, stem cells and cancer

• Published in: Development (Cambridge) Vol. 141; no. 20; pp. 3819 - 3833
• Main Author: Papaioannou, Virginia E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Company of Biologists 01.10.2014
• Subjects: Animals; Cell Differentiation; DNA - chemistry; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Heart - embryology; Humans; Metazoa; Mice; Multigene Family; Mutation; Myocardium - metabolism; Neoplasms - metabolism; Phylogeny; Primer; Protein Binding; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Stem Cells - cytology; T-Box Domain Proteins - physiology; Transcription Factors - physiology; Transcription factors; T-box genes; Tbx
• ISSN: 0950-1991; 1477-9129
• DOI: 10.1242/dev.104471

The T-box family of transcription factors exhibits widespread involvement throughout development in all metazoans. T-box proteins are characterized by a DNA-binding motif known as the T-domain that binds DNA in a sequence-specific manner. In humans, mutations in many of the genes within the T-box family result in developmental syndromes, and there is increasing evidence to support a role for these factors in certain cancers. In addition, although early studies focused on the role of T-box factors in early embryogenesis, recent studies in mice have uncovered additional roles in unsuspected places, for example in adult stem cell populations. Here, I provide an overview of the key features of T-box transcription factors and highlight their roles and mechanisms of action during various stages of development and in stem/progenitor cell populations.