Iroquois-class homeodomain protein IRX-2, also known as Iroquois homeobox protein 2, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the IRX2 gene.

Function

IRX2 is a member of the Iroquois homeobox gene family. Members of this family appear to play multiple roles during pattern formation of vertebrate embryos.

Cancer

IRX2 gene has been observed progressively downregulated in Human papillomavirus-positive neoplastic keratinocytes derived from uterine cervical preneoplastic lesions at different levels of malignancy. For this reason, IRX2 is likely to be associated with tumorigenesis and may be a potential prognostic marker for uterine cervical preneoplastic lesions progression.

Further reading

This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.