Skeletogenesis, remodeling, and maintenance in adult tissues are regulated by sequential\nactivation of genes coding for specific transcription factors. The conserved Homeobox genes\n(HOX, in humans) are involved in several skeletal pathologies. Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized\nby homeostatic alterations of cartilage and bone synthesis, resulting in cartilage destruction and\nincreased bone formation. We postulate that alterations in HOX expression in Mesenchymal Stem\ncells (MSCs) are likely one of the causes explaining the homeostatic alterations in OA and that\nthis altered expression could be the result of epigenetic regulation. The expression of HOX genes\nin osteoarthritic-derived MSCs was screened using PCR arrays. Epigenetic regulation of HOX\nwas analyzed measuring the degree of DNA methylation in their promoters. We demonstrate the\ndownregulated expression of HOXA9 and HOXC8 in OA-MSCs. However, their expression does\nnot correlate with promoter methylation status, suggesting that other epigenetic mechanisms could\nbe implicated in the regulation of HOX expression. Studies on the role of these genes under active\ndifferentiation conditions need to be addressed for a better knowledge of the mechanisms regulating\nthe expression of HOX, to allow a better understanding of OA pathology and to define possible\nbiomarkers for therapeutic treatment.
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