ESX1 Antibody

Homeobox proteins are transcription factors that contain a helix-turn-helix DNA binding domain termed the homeodomain. ESX1 is an X-linked homeobox gene primarily expressed in the placenta and testis and contains two functional domains: the homeodomain and the proline-rich domain. During embryogenesis, ESX1 is expressed in the extraembryonic tissues, including the endoderm of the visceral yolk sac, the ectoderm of the chorion and the labyrinthine trophoblast of the chorioallantoic placenta. ESX1 can act like a transcriptional repressor to the human oncogene K-ras and treatment of human cancer cells with an ESX1 protein fragment containing the homeodomain reduces the tumorgenicity of cells containing oncogenic K-ras mutations, suggesting ESX1 may be useful as a therapeutic treatment for these cancers.