BBX (gene)

HMG box transcription factor BBX also known as bobby sox homolog or HMG box-containing protein 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the BBX gene.

Model organisms

Bbx knockout mouse phenotype

Characteristic	Phenotype
Homozygote viability	Normal
Fertility	Normal
Body weight	Normal
Anxiety	Normal
Neurological assessment	Normal
Grip strength	Normal
Hot plate	Normal
Dysmorphology	Normal
Indirect calorimetry	Normal
Glucose tolerance test	Normal
Auditory brainstem response	Normal
DEXA	Abnormal
Radiography	Abnormal
Body temperature	Normal
Eye morphology	Normal
Clinical chemistry	Normal
Plasma immunoglobulins	Abnormal
Haematology	Normal
Peripheral blood lymphocytes	Normal
Micronucleus test	Normal
Heart weight	Abnormal
Tail epidermis wholemount	Normal
Skin Histopathology	Normal
Brain histopathology	Normal
Salmonella infection	Normal
Citrobacter infection	Normal
All tests and analysis from

Model organisms have been used in the study of BBX function. A conditional knockout mouse line, called Bbx^{tm1a(EUCOMM)Wtsi} was generated as part of the International Knockout Mouse Consortium program, a high-throughput mutagenesis project to generate and distribute animal models of disease to interested scientists.

Male and female animals underwent a standardized phenotypic screen to determine the effects of deletion. Twenty six tests were carried out on homozygous mutant adult mice and four significant abnormalities were observed. A study of body composition found decreases in bone mineral density and content, and a reduction in body length in female mice, while mutants of both sexes showed a reduction in lean body mass. Radiography found that males had abnormal teeth morphology. Females had a decreased heart weight, and both sexes had reduced IgA levels in their plasma.