A novel natural antisense transcript at human SOX9 locus is down-regulated in cancer and stem cells.

Objective SOX9 is a key transcription factor with important roles in regulating proliferation and differentiation of various cell types. Dysregulation of SOX9 expression has been involved with pathogenesis of different developmental, degenerative, and neoplastic disorders. Natural antisense transcripts (NATs) are long non-coding RNAs with increasing significance in regulation of gene expression. However, the presence of a NAT at SOX9 locus has been so far unclear.