Inhibition of binding of hox and homeodomain-containing proteins and uses thereof

摘要

Disclosed herein is that BMP-2/4 activates osteopontin gene transcription by removing Hoxc-8 binding through Smad1 interaction with the Hoxc-8 DNA binding domain. Since the DNA binding domain is conserved in all Hox and homeodomain-containing proteins, Smad1 likely interacts with all Hox or homeodomain-containing proteins. Also disclosed is the Smad1-mediated transcriptional mechanism in the BMP-2/4 signaling pathway and the information about the transcriptional roles of the Hox genes during embryonic development.