Sustained expression of homeobox D10 inhibits angiogenesis

Homeobox (Hox) genes are master regulatory genes that direct organogenesis and maintain differentiated tissue function. As HoxD3 and HoxB3 promote angio-genesis, we investigated whether endothelial cells use other Hox genes to maintain a mature quiescent phe-notype. HoxD10 expression was higher in quiescent as compared to tumor-associated angiogenic endothe-lium. Microarray analysis of HoxD10-overexpressing endothelial cells revealed a pattern of gene expres-sion consistent with a nonangiogenic phenotype. Moreover, sustained expression of HoxD10 impaired endothelial cell migration and blocked angiogenesis induced by basic fibroblast growth factor and vascu-lar endothelial growth factor in the chick chorioallan-toic membrane in vivo. HoxD10-overexpressing hu