The <Emphasis Type="Italic">WTX/AMER1</Emphasis> gene family: evolution,signature and function

Background  

WTX is a novel gene mutated in a proportion of Wilms' tumors and in patients suffering from sclerosing bone dysplasia. On the molecular level WTX has been shown to act as an antagonist of canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling in fish and mammals thus linking it to an essential pathway involved in normal development and cancer formation. Interestingly, WTX seems to also localize to an intranuclear component called paraspeckles. In spite of the growing interest of molecular biologists in WTX, little is known about its paralogs and its phylogenetic history.