Homez contains two leucine zipper-like motifs and an acidic domain and belongs to the superfamily of homeobox-containing proteins. The presence of leucine zippers suggests that Homez can function as a homo or heterodimer in the nucleus [1]. It is thought that the first leucine zipper and homeodomain 1 (HD1)of Homez is responsible for dimerisation and HD2 has a specific DNA-binding activity. Homez is also thought to function as a transcriptional repressor due to the acidic region in its C-terminal domain [1]. Homez is involved in a complex regulatory network [1].

1: Homez, a homeobox leucine zipper gene specific to the vertebrate lineage. Bayarsaihan D, Enkhmandakh B, Makeyev A, Greally JM, Leckman JF, Ruddle FH; Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003;100:10358-10363. PMID:12925734