Iroquois Homeobox Protein 3 (IRX3)

IRX3 is a member of the Iroquois homeobox gene family and plays a role in an early step of neural development. Members of this family appear to play multiple roles during pattern formation of vertebrate embryos.

Both the deduced mouse and Xenopus proteins contain a homeodomain with a 3-prime acidic region, 2 potential MAPK phosphorylation sites, and a conserved C-terminal region. In situ hybridization of mouse embryos, detected Irx3 expression starting at the end of gastrulation, embryonic (E) day 7.5. By E8.0, expression was specific to the thickening neural ectoderm and continued to be specific to neural progenitor cells during embryogenesis through closure of the neural tube at E9.5.