HOXA7

Overview

HOXA7 is a homeobox transcription factor involved in developmental patterning. In IDH-mutant glioma, HOXA7 is an experimentally confirmed target of HOXD13, itself a master regulator of IDH-mutant astrocytoma epigenetic progression.

Alterations observed in the corpus

  • HOXA7 is an experimentally confirmed HOXD13 target gene in IDH-mutant glioma; upregulated as part of the HOXD13-driven transcriptional program in recurrent IDH-mutant non-codeleted astrocytomas and associated with tumor growth and metastasis promotion PMID:38117484.
  • HOXA7 upregulation is associated with the epigenetic shift from GCIMP-high to GCIMP-low (i.e., DNA hypomethylation at recurrence) in treated IDH-mutant gliomas from the GLASS consortium (n=132 matched initial and recurrent gliomas) PMID:38117484.

Cancer types (linked)

  • DIFG / ASTR — HOXA7 is a downstream effector of HOXD13 in IDH-mutant astrocytoma progression; associated with more aggressive recurrent disease PMID:38117484.

Co-occurrence and mutual exclusivity

  • Epigenetically co-activated with CENPF and PCNA as HOXD13 target genes in recurrent IDH-mutant astrocytomas PMID:38117484.

Therapeutic relevance

  • HOXD13 and its downstream targets including HOXA7 represent candidate therapeutic targets in recurrent IDH-mutant glioma PMID:38117484.

Open questions

  • The precise contribution of HOXA7 vs other HOXD13 targets (CENPF, PCNA) to IDH-mutant glioma progression remains to be delineated PMID:38117484.

Sources

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