PROX-1, A PROSPERO-RELATED HOMEOBOX GENE EXPRESSED DURING MOUSE DEVELOPMENT

Prox 1, a likely mouse homologue of the Drosophila homeobox gene prosp ero has been cloned and its expression pattern analyzed during develop ment. In Drosophila, prospero is expressed in the developing CNS, lens -secreting cone cells of the eye, and midgut. In the mouse, Prox 1 is expressed in many of the same tissues: young neurons of the subventric ular region of the CNS, developing eye lens and pancreas. Expression i s also detected in the developing liver and heart, as well as transien tly in the skeletal muscles. The similarities in protein sequence and expression patterns between the mouse and fly cognate genes suggest th at Prox 1 may play, among others, a fundamental role in early developm ent of the murine CNS.