Sox2

By Author: Stephen Jones
Total Articles: 35
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SOX2 belongs to a family of DNA binding High-Mobility group domain transcription factor proteins, which has been identified as a key player in both in regulating embryonic development as well as in determining cell fates. The prototype of SOX2 gene is Sry (Sex determining region of Y chromosome) gene, which codes for mammalian testis determining factor. SOX2 is one of best characterized proteins among the other family members with respect to determining the regulation of natural target genes. Chicken δ-crystallin gene minimal enhancer, DC5 is the first known target of SOX2 in the developing eye. This transcription factor forms a trimeric complex with OCT4 on DNA and controls the expression of a number of genes involved in embryonic development such as YES1, FGF4, UTF1 and ZFP206. Moreover, in context of stem cells SOX2 binds to FGF4 in conjunction with OCT3/4. SOX2 and OCT3/4 is also involved in the expression of the UTF1 gene, which encodes an embryonic stem-cell-specific co activator. This gene lies within an intron of another gene called SOX2 overlapping transcript (SOX2OT). The ectopic expression of SOX2 may be related ...
... to abnormal differentiation of colorectal cancer cells. SOX2 is one of the key transcription factors required in induced pluripotent stem cells. As forced Oct4 expression induced pluripotency in SOX2-null cells, hence researchers concluded that the primary role of SOX2 is controlling OCT4 expression. SOX2 when expressed in self-renewing progenitor cells inhibits neuronal differentiation. Conversely, active repression of SOX2 induces neural differentiation. SOX2 contains a HMG box DNA-binding domain. Mutations in this gene have been associated with microphthalmia syndromic type 3 (MCOPS3) a severe form of structural eye malformation characterized by the rare association of malformations including uni- or bilateral anophthalmia or microphthalmia, and esophageal atresia with trachoesophageal fistula.

IMGENEX Corporation as well as ImgenexIndia has thus come up with novel antibodies against the SOX proteins to aid enthusiastic researchers in the field of Immunology and especially stem cell biology. The quality and efficacy of these SOX antibodies make them unique in their own way and tend to be good research elements for therapeutic purpose as well.

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