What is Gene Ontology?
Gene Ontology refers to the set of structured, controlled vocabularies used to categorize genes, gene products, and sequences. The vocabularies used to categorize genes and their products fall into three classifications: Cellular Components, Molecular Functions, and Biological Processes. These controlled vocabularies allow for systematic communication and thus allow consistent description of genes and their products. [1]
Cellular ComponentsCellular components refer to the structures within cells such as the nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, ribosome, etc. Annotation of the cellular components of a gene describe the location of where the gene of interest resides.
FOXE1 is noted as residing in the Nucleus: a structure of the cell that contains the genetic information that control various aspects of the cell such as growth and reproduction (GO:0005634). As FOXE1 is believed to play a role in thyroid cell morphogenesis, the localization of the gene in the nucleus is to be expected. |
Molecular FunctionsMolecular functions refer to a gene or a gene products function within the cell. FOXE1 is noted as having sequence-specific DNA binding and RNA polymerase II (RNAP2) transcription factor activity (GO:0000981). As RNAP2 plays a crucial role in the transcription of DNA into RNA, this shows that FOXE1 plays an important role in recognizing specific DNA sequences and recruiting RNAP2 to transcribe specific regions of the cell's genome.
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Biological ProcessesBiological processes refer to the regulatory processes that are essential for a cells function and survival. In terms of genes, biological processes refer to the activity of a gene product that effects other regulatory mechanisms within a cell. FOXE1 is noted as playing a role in the regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II, thyroid hormone generation, cell migration, and cell differentiation. (GO:0006357) (GO:0006590) (GO:0016477) (GO:0030154)
This shows that FOXE1 is responsible for thyroid cell morphogenesis through transcription regulation as well as thyroid hormone generation. |
Discussion
As FOXE1 is a thyroid transcription factor, its RNAP II transcription factor activity within the nucleus is to be expected. It's biological process of thyroid hormone generation, cell migration, and cell differentiation indicates that FOXE1 is essential for proper thyroid function as well as proper thyroid gland development. As FOXE1 mutations have been associated with NMTC, understanding FOXE1's mechanism of function in cell migration and cell differentiation may provide insight into why FOXE1 mutations may cause NMTC.
References
[1] “Gene Ontology Project in 2008 | Nucleic Acids Research | Oxford Academic.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 4 Nov. 2007, https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/36/suppl_1/D440/2507489
[1] “Gene Ontology Project in 2008 | Nucleic Acids Research | Oxford Academic.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 4 Nov. 2007, https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/36/suppl_1/D440/2507489
Image References
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