Involvement of ubiquitous and tale transcription factors, as well as liganded RXRα, in the regulation of human SOX2 gene expression in the NT2/D1 embryonal carcinoma cell line

SOX2 is a key transcription factor in embryonic development representing a universal marker of pluripotent stem cells. Based on the functional redundancy and overlapping expression patterns of SOXB1 subgroup members during development, the goal of this study has been to analyze if some aspects of regulation of expression are preserved between human SOX2 and SOX3 genes. Thus, we have tested several transcription factors previously demonstrated to play roles in controlling SOX3 gene activity for potential participation in the regulation of SOX2 gene expression in NT2/D1 cells. Here we report on the activation of SOX2 expression by ubiquitous transcription factors (NF-Y, Sp1 and MAZ), TALE family members (Pbx1 and Meis1), as well as liganded RXRα. Elucidating components involved in the regulation of SOX gene expression represent a valuable contribution in unraveling the regulatory networks operating in pluripotent embryonic cells.