title: Hox genes and region-specific sensorimotor circuit formation in the hindbrain and spinal cord.
abstract: Homeobox (Hox) genes were originally discovered in the fruit fly Drosophila, where they function through a conserved homeodomain as transcriptional regulators to control embryonic morphogenesis. In vertebrates, 39 Hox genes have been identified and like their Drosophila counterparts they are organized within chromosomal clusters. Hox genes interact with various cofactors, such as the TALE homeodomain proteins, in recognition of consensus sequences within regulatory elements of their target genes. In vertebrates, Hox genes display spatially restricted patterns of expression within the developing hindbrain and spinal cord, and are considered crucial determinants of segmental identity and cell specification along the anterioposterior and dorsoventral axes of the embryo. Here, we review their later roles in the assembly of neuronal circuitry, in stereotypic neuronal migration, axon pathfinding, and topographic connectivity. Importantly, we will put some emphasis on how their early-segmented expression patterns can influence the formation of complex vital hindbrain and spinal cord circuitries.
authors.affiliation: University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, F-06108, Nice, France; INSERM, iBV, UMR 1091, F-06108, Nice, France.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Bonito
authors.forename: Joel C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Glover
authors.forename: Michèle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Studer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005801:Genes, Homeobox / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D012249:Rhombencephalon / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000196:embryology*
keywords: Hox genes; neuronal differentiation, axon pathfinding, neuronal migration; rhombomers; sensorimotor circuits; spinal cord