The transcription factor Sox2 is active in neural stem cells, and Sox2 'knockdown' mice show defects in neural stem/progenitor cells in the hippocampus and eye, and possibly some neurons. In humans, heterozygous Sox2 deficiency is associated with eye abnormalities, hippocampal malformation and epilepsy. To better understand the role of Sox2, we performed in vitro differentiation studies on neur...

Cellular reprogramming to iPSCs has uncovered unsuspected links between tumor suppressors and pluripotency factors. Using this system, it was possible to identify tumor suppressor p27 as a repressor of Sox2 during differentiation. This led to the demonstration that defects in the repression of Sox2 can contribute to tumor development. The members of the retinoblastoma family of pocket proteins,...

The transcription factor Sox2 is necessary to maintain pluripotency of embryonic stem cells, and to regulate neural development. Neurogenesis in the vertebrate olfactory epithelium persists from embryonic stages through adulthood. The role Sox2 plays for the development of the olfactory epithelium and neurogenesis within has, however, not been determined. Here, by analysing Sox2 conditional kno...

SOX2 is an embryonic stem cell marker that in prostate cancer has been associated not only with tumorigenesis but also metastasis. Furthermore hypoxia in primary tumors has been linked to poor prognosis and outcomes in this disease. The goal of the present study was to investigate the impact of hypoxia on SOX2 expression and metastasis-associated functions in prostate cancer cells. A tissue mic...

The expression of microRNA 21 (miR-21) has been reported to be upregulated in various types of cancer, including malignant gliomas. However, its functions and mechanisms in glioma remain to be fully elucidated. The present study established miRNA‑21 overexpression and knockdown cell lines using SRY‑box 2 (Sox2) small interfering RNA (siRNA) to knockdown expression and Sox2 cDNA was cloned into ...

In the adult olfactory epithelium, the transcription factors Pax6 and Sox2 are co-expressed in sustentacular cells, horizontal basal cells (HBCs), and less-differentiated globose basal cells (GBCs)-both multipotent and transit amplifying categories-but are absent from immediate neuronal precursor GBCs and olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs). We used retroviral-vector transduction to over-express P...

The generation of the mechanosensory elements of the inner ear during development proceeds in a precise temporal and spatial pattern. First, neurosensory precursors form sensory neurons. Then, prosensory patches emerge and give rise to hair and supporting cells. Hair cells are innervated by cochleovestibular neurons that convey sound and balance information to the brain. SOX2 is an HMG transcri...

Sox2 (Sry-box2) is essential for a variety of stem cells and is also expressed in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the underlying mechanism by which Sox2 enhances CRC progression remains unclear. In the present study, we show that elevated Sox2 expression is significantly correlated with poor clinical prognosis. CRC is phenotypically heterogeneous, and harbors several subtypes of cancer cells....

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among gynecologic cancers and is the fifth leading cause of all cancer-related deaths among women. The development of novel molecular targets is therefore important to many patients. Recently, the SRY-related transcription factor SOX2 has been widely reported to be involved in multiple pathophysiological diseases, including maintenance of stem cell c...