Int. J. Dev. Biol. 62: 733 - 744 (2018)

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180178rr

Vol 62, Issue 11-12

Special Issue: Homeobox genes

Post-translational modifications of HOX proteins, an underestimated issue

Published: 12 December 2018

Amandine Draime^1,#, Laure Bridoux^1,#, Yacine Graba*^,2 and René Rezsohazy*^,1

¹Animal Molecular and Cellular Biology, Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology (LIBST), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium and ²Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, IBDM, Marseille, France

Abstract

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are important determinants which contribute to modulating the turn-over, intracellular localisation, molecular interactions and activity of most eukaryotic proteins. Such modifications and their consequences have been extensively examined for some proteins or classes of proteins. This is not the case for the HOX transcription factors which are crucial regulators of animal development. In this review, we provide a survey of the literature and data repositories pertaining to HOX-associated PTMs. This highlights that HOX proteins are also likely widely post-translationally modified, and defines HOX PTMs as an under-valued facet of their biology.

Keywords

HOX protein, post-translational modification, protein-protein interactions