PAX7

Paired box protein Pax-7 (PAX7), a paired box family transcription factor (aliases: PAX7A, PAX7B), is critical for muscle satellite cell self-renewal and myogenic differentiation. It binds specific DNA motifs to regulate target genes, interacting with Wnt/Notch pathways to control satellite cell activation and muscle regeneration.
Dysregulated PAX7 contributes to muscular dystrophies (impaired muscle repair) and alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (driven by PAX7-FOXO1 fusions). Preclinical research targets these fusion proteins—small molecules inhibiting their transcriptional activity show promise in suppressing tumor growth, though clinical trials remain in early stages.