Bex1-flox Mouse

Bex1, or brain-expressed X-linked protein 1, has diverse essential functions. It is involved in ciliogenesis, where it plays a crucial role in tubulin polymerization and primary cilia formation [3]. It also participates in pathways related to cell stemness, inflammation, and viral response. In terms of biological importance, it is associated with various diseases, especially liver cancer and heart-related diseases. Genetic models, such as knockout mice, have been instrumental in studying its functions.

In liver cancer, Bex1 is a novel cancer stem cell (CSC) marker. DNMT1-mediated methylation of Bex1 regulates the self-renewal of liver CSCs in hepatoblastoma (HB) and a subtype of hepatocellular carcinoma with high CSC features (CSC-HCC) through activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway [1]. In HB, Bex1 promotes stemness maintenance by facilitating the Warburg effect in a PPARγ/PDK1-dependent manner [2]. In viral myocarditis, Bex1 knockout mice showed accelerated coxsackievirus B3-driven heart failure and pathologic heart remodeling, indicating its cardioprotective role during viral infection as it limits viral replication [4].

In conclusion, Bex1 is essential for ciliogenesis and plays significant roles in liver cancer stemness regulation and the cardiac antiviral immune response. Gene knockout mouse models have been key in revealing its functions in these disease areas, helping us understand its biological functions and providing potential therapeutic targets for liver cancer and viral-related heart diseases.