OTX Genes in Adult Tissues

Onco-Ontogeny of Squamous Cell Cancer of the First Pharyngeal Arch Derivatives

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (H&NSCC) is an anatomic, biological, and genetic complex disease. It involves more than 1000 genes implied in its oncogenesis; for this review, we limit our search and description to the genes implied in the onco-ontogeny of the derivates from the first pharyngeal arch during embryo development. They can be grouped as transcription factors and signaling molecules (that act as growth factors that bind to receptors). Finally, we propose the term embryo-oncogenesis to refer to the activation, reactivation, and use of the genes involved in the embryo's development during the oncogenesis or malignant tumor invasion and metastasis events as part of an onco-ontogenic inverse process.

OTX1 regulates tumorigenesis and metastasis in glioma

The most prevalent kind of primary brain tumors, gliomas, have a dismal prognosis. Recent advances in the tumor-promoting ability of OTX1 have drawn increasing attention. The overexpression of OTX1 has been reported to be associated with tumor-promoting effects in several malignancies, but its expression in gliomas is unknown. The oncogene OTX1 is increased in gliomas and is linked to a poor prognosis, as we show here. The degree of OTX1 positive expression is doubtlessly concomitant with the grade of glioma. We observed that OTX1 was up-regulated in gliomas, influenced the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), encouraged glioma cell growth and proliferation, and was linked to a poor clinical outcome for patients. At present, the prognosis of glioma is still not optimistic, and further research is needed to find a new target for treatment. According to our research, OTX1 is anticipated to emerge as a novel biological target for determining glioma prognosis and treatment.