IRX3 (F7S2F) Rabbit mAb #28398

The Iroquois-class homeodomain proteins (IRX1-6) comprise a family of transcription factors, initially identified in a mutagenesis experiment in Drosophila designed to identify genes involved in embryonic patterning (1,2). Members of the Iroquois-class protein family contain a three amino acid loop extension (TALE) homeodomain and an IRO sequence motif of unknown function that is unique to this protein family, but which bears similarity to Notch receptor domains involved in protein-protein interactions (3,4). Research studies in various animal models suggest important roles for IRX proteins in early development, including neural patterning, heart field specification, kidney development, and lung development (5-8). Moreover, studies in mice have shown an essential role for IRX proteins in eye development, where they are required for the specification of ommatidia and photoreceptor cells (9).

IRX3 is expressed during nervous system, renal, and cardiac development and controls genetic programs that guide development of these organs (10). Research studies have demonstrated that mice lacking both Irx3 and its paralog, Irx5, die in utero due, in part, to cardiac defects (11). In the context of human disease, research studies have demonstrated that IRX3 is aberrantly overexpressed and oncogenic in multiple types of human hematologic malignancies, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (12,13).