Ladybird Homeobox Protein 2 (LBX2)

Lbx2 encodes a deduced 198-amino acid protein that shares 64% sequence identity with the mouse protein. Like mouse Lbx2, the human protein contains a conserved homeodomain in exon 2 and a conserved 6-amino acid lady bird sequence in exon 1.Lady bird genes in Drosophila play important roles in neurogenesis, in myogenesis, and in specifying cardioblasts. In the mouse, Lbx2 is expressed in the developing urogenital system, the eye, and the central nervous system. Chen et al. (2001) demonstrated in transgenic mice that 9 kb of the 5-prime genomic flanking region contains the Lbx2 promoter and regulatory regions that are sufficient to recapitulate endogenous Lbx2 expression. In mouse embryos at 11.5 days of gestation, this promoter exhibited tissue specificity for the urogenital ridge, the trigeminal ganglion, and nodose ganglion.