TOX
TOX (thymocyte selection associated high mobility group box, also known as TOX1 and KIAA0808) is a nuclear HMG-box transcriptional regulator. It directs neural stem cell commitment and lymphoid development, and drives T cell exhaustion under chronic antigen stimulation. Browse Assay Genie's current range of TOX research reagents below, or read on for the biology behind the target.
TOX is a transcriptional regulator with a major role in neural stem cell commitment and corticogenesis, and in lymphoid cell development and lymphoid tissue organogenesis. It binds GC-rich DNA sequences close to transcription start sites and may alter chromatin structure, changing how readily other transcription factors reach DNA. It may activate or repress genes critical for neural stem cell fate, including SOX2, EOMES and ROBO2.
In the developing cortex, TOX controls the neural stem cell pool by inhibiting the switch from proliferative to differentiating progenitors. It also promotes neurite outgrowth in newborn neurons migrating towards the cortical plate. In the immune system it is essential for the development of lymphoid tissue-inducer cells, which are needed to form peripheral lymph nodes and Peyer's patches. It acts as a developmental checkpoint and regulates thymocyte positive selection towards T cell lineage commitment. It is required for CD4-positive helper T cells, CD8-positive cytotoxic T cells, regulatory T cells and CD1D-dependent natural killer T cells. It is also needed for differentiation of common lymphoid progenitors to innate lymphoid cells, and for NK cell lineage commitment at the progenitor stage in bone marrow. It may regulate the NOTCH-mediated gene programme in the ILC lineage.
Under chronic antigen stimulation, TOX diverts T cell development towards exhaustion while suppressing effector and memory programming. It may regulate inhibitory receptor genes such as PDCD1, limiting overstimulation and activation-induced cell death. The TOX protein contains an HMG box DNA-binding domain, a motif found in many eukaryotic proteins involved in chromatin assembly, transcription and replication, and belongs to the HMG box superfamily. The mouse ortholog is Tox, and the HGNC places the human TOX gene in the thymocyte selection associated high mobility group box family.
TOX promotes exhausted T cell generation under chronic antigen stimulation and may regulate inhibitory receptor genes such as PDCD1.
TOX regulates thymocyte positive selection and is required for CD4, CD8, regulatory and NKT cell subsets.
TOX controls the neural stem cell pool in corticogenesis by inhibiting the shift from proliferative to differentiating progenitors.
TOX is needed for ILC and NK cell lineage commitment and for lymphoid tissue-inducer cells that form secondary lymphoid organs.
TOX is a nuclear transcriptional regulator. It binds GC-rich DNA near transcription start sites and may alter chromatin structure. It governs neural stem cell commitment, lymphoid and T cell development, and promotes T cell exhaustion during chronic antigen stimulation.
The official name is thymocyte selection associated high mobility group box. The gene is also known as TOX1 and KIAA0808. UniProt lists the protein as thymocyte selection-associated high mobility group box protein TOX, and it belongs to the HMG box superfamily.
A mouse ortholog, Tox, is recorded for the human TOX gene. Species reactivity differs between reagents, so check the datasheet of any product for its validated reactivity.
Neural stem cell regulators, T cell exhaustion markers and lymphoid development factors connected to TOX biology.
Gene and protein annotations from HGNC, NCBI Gene and UniProt O94900; product specifications from Assay Genie datasheets.