ated with cell adhesion and migration. Thus, there is a possibil ity that CD177 also acts as a regulator of adhesion and mi gration of neoplastic cells in gastric tumor. Further studies are needed to clarify the association between CD177 ex pression in gastric epithelial cells and tumor progression. Conclusions We demonstrated that the mouse model combined with H. pylori infection and high salt diet is suitable for investigation of global gene expression associated with gas tric tumor development and progression. Furthermore, our results suggest that CD177 expression GSK-3 might be associated with a favorable prognosis of gastric adenocarcinomas in man. The conserved family of homeodomain Hox transcrip tion factors is critically involved in patterning the body plan of bilaterian embryos by controlling multiple mor phogenetic and organogenetic processes during animal development.

Modifications in Hox protein expres sion and activity have likely contributed to the evolution ary diversification of animal forms. Misregulation or mutation of several Hox proteins has been associated with pathologies like cancer or neuropathies. Hox proteins are transcription factors which regulate expression of target genes and chromatin remodeling. A handful of proteins that interact with Hox pro teins have been identified so far, and these are almost ex clusively transcription factors, like the well characterized Three Amino acid Loop Extension homeodo main proteins Pbx Exd and Prep Meis Hth, TFIIEB, TATA Binding Protein, Gli3, Maf, Smad, High Mobility Group protein 1, or transcriptional coregulators like CREB Binding Protein p300.

Hox proteins may also form complexes with the translation initiation factor eIF4E to control the translation of target mRNAs. Some Hox like homeodomain proteins can be secreted into the extracellular compartment and translocate through the cell membrane to gain access to the cytosol and nucleus of neighboring cells, so it has been pro posed that Hox proteins could display a paracrine tran scriptional activity. Numerous transcription factors, involved in critical developmental processes, like Smad, STAT, B catenin or NF��B, are primarily signal transducers. Though primar ily cytoplasmic, upon activation these can translocate to the nucleus, where they convey signaling by affecting gene regulation.

As signal transducers these transcrip tion factors can interact with enzymatically active mem brane receptors, adaptor proteins, signal transducing kinases, or ubitiquin ligases. Possibly, Hox transcription factors could similarly fulfill pivotal roles at the heart of developmental processes, acting at the crossroads be tween cell to cell communication and cell fate deter mination. To our knowledge no exhaustive interaction screen has been performed to detect functional connec tions for a Hox protein. Here, we conducted a proteome wide screening for candidate interactors of Hoxa1. Hoxa1 is one of the earliest Hox genes to be expressed during embryonic de