Housekeeping Genes revisited: Roles beyond normalization

Housekeeping genes are commonly described as genes that are constitutively expressed in all cell types, as they are required for the maintenance of basic cellular functions necessary for survival. The attribute of consistent expression displayed by so-called “housekeeping genes” is commonly utilized in normalizing PCR and western blotting data. However, there is no universal housekeeping gene, remaining invariant under all experimental conditions.