SOX2 and cancer: current research and its implications in the clinic

Weina, Kasia; Utikal, Jochen

doi:10.1186/2001-1326-3-19

Clinical and Translational Medicine

Table 1 Summary of SOX2 amplification and functions in cancer

From: SOX2 and cancer: current research and its implications in the clinic

Cancer type	*SOX2* gene amplification	SOX2 function	Pathway/Process	References
Breast	No	↑cell proliferation, ↑colony formation, ↑↓invasion, ↑metastasis	↑WNT/ β-CATENIN, ↑EMT, ↓AMPK/mTOR	[21–27]
Cervical	Unknown	↑cell proliferation, ↑clonogenicity, ↑tumorigenicity	Unknown	[28]
Colorectal	Unknown	↑↓cell proliferation, ↑metastasis, ↑senescence, ↑autophagy, ↑tumor growth, ↑invasion, ↑migration, ↑anchorage-dependent growth	↑BMP, ↓mTOR,↑MET, ↑WNT/ β-CATENIN	[29–33]
Esophageal SCC	Yes	↑cell proliferation, ↑tumor growth	↑Akt/mTORC1, ↑STAT3	[17, 34–36]
Gastric	Unknown	↑↓ apoptosis, ↑↓cell proliferation, ↑migration	↑AKT signaling	[37–41]
Glioblastoma, GBM, medulloblastoma, oligodendroglioma	Yes	↑promoter hypomethylation, ↑invasion, ↑migration, ↑self-renewal CSCs, ↑cell proliferation, ↑colony formation	Unknown	[14, 15, 42–46]
Hepatocellular carcinoma	Unknown	↑invasion, ↑sphere formation	↑EMT	[47]
Layngeal	Unknown	↑ invasion/migration	↑MMP-2 ↑PI3L/AKT/mTOR	[48]
Melanoma	Unknown	↑invasion, ↑tumor volume, ↑self-renewal CSCs	↑Hedegehog-GLI signaling	[49–53]
Oral SCC	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	[20]
Osteosarcoma	Unknown	↑self-renewal CSCs, ↑tumorigenicity, ↑dedifferentiation	↓WNT/ β-CATENIN	[54]
Ovarian	Unknown	↑migration, ↑invasion, ↑colony formation	Unknown	[55, 56]
Pancreatic	Unknown	↑cell proliferation, ↑stemness/dedifferentiation	↑EMT	[57]
Prostate	Unknown	↑self-renewal CSCs, ↑cell proliferation, ↑cell survival, ↑metastasis, ↑migration, ↓apoptosis, ↓store-operated Ca²⁺ entry	↓Ca²⁺ channels, ↑EMT, ↓Survivin, ↑WNT/β-CATENIN, ↑EGFR/PI3K/AKT	[27, 58–60]
SCLC, Lung SCC, lung adenocarcinoma, NSCLC	Yes	↑cell proliferation, ↑cell survival, ↓apoptosis, ↑migration, ↑anchorage-dependent growth, ↑self-renewal CSCs, ↑metastasis, ↓autophagy, ↑tumor formation	↑MAP4K4-Survivin, ↓EGFR/Src/Akt ↓BMP4	[12, 16, 19, 61–70]
Sinonasal	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	[71]
Transitional cell Carcinoma	Unknown	↑alternative splicing	Unknown	[72]

SOX2 has been shown to be amplified and functionally relevant in various cancer types. SOX2 in cancer functions through multiple mechanisms that vary depending on the cancer type. However, in most cases, SOX2 has been shown to increase cell proliferation, invasion, migration, metastasis and self-renewal of CSCs. In addition, some of these phenotypes have been linked to particular oncogenic pathways, including WNT/β-CATENIN, EGFR, mTOR and HH signaling.
↑ = Promotes/Improves.
↓ = Suppresses/Inhibits.
↑↓ = Conflicting research.

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