A hallmark of eukaryotic aging is a loss of epigenetic information, a process that can be reversed. We have previously shown that the ectopic induction of the Yamanaka factors OCT4, SOX2, and KLF4 (OS

In breast cancer cells, SOX2 transcriptionally activates TSTA3 expression. Elevated TSTA3 enhances programmed death ligand-1 fucosylation, which increases

In 2006, Shinya Yamanaka and Kazutoshi Takahashi used OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and MYC (OSKM; also known as Yamanaka factors) to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from somatic cells. Twenty year...

In 2006, Shinya Yamanaka and Kazutoshi Takahashi used OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and MYC (OSKM; also known as Yamanaka factors) to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from somatic cells. Twenty years later, the field has made remarkable progress, both technically and in terms of its applications. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of iPSCs, we asked experts around the globe about their view on the most striking achievements and next challenges to overcome.

David Sinclair’s firm Life Biosciences recently launched a first-of-its-kind in vivo reprogramming trial called ER-100. I wrote about how the odds were against this trial succeeding but hoped I was wrong to be skeptical. The idea is to use a pulse of OCT4, SOX2, and KLF4 (OSK) to try to somehow help visual issues including […]

A hallmark of eukaryotic aging is a loss of epigenetic information, a process that can be reversed. We have previously shown that the ectopic induction of the Yamanaka factors OCT4, SOX2, and KLF4 (OS...

Read the full paper: Targeting oncogenic SOX2 condensates suppresses squamous cell carcinoma progression

In contrast to rapid epigenetic de-aging during induced pluripotent stem cell generation, direct conversion of blood cells into neural stem cells is associated with largely protracted epigenetic de-a...

Luan et al. reveal that SOX2 condensates promote squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) progression by regulating chromatin organization and oncogene expression. The FDA-approved drug ixazomib selectively disrupts SOX2 condensates in an HSP70-dependent manner, offering an SCC-specific, biomarker-guided therapeutic strategy with high translational potential.

Zika virus infects NF1-associated plexiform neurofibromas and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, inducing viral replication, inflammatory cytokine release, reduced proliferation, and tumor cell death. Sensitivity correlates with SOX10/SOX2 expression and is confirmed in patient-derived samples, highlighting ZIKV’s potential as a novel oncolytic therapy for NF1-associated tumors.

Engineered SOX17 factors, including a miniaturized variant, replace SOX2 to drive efficient direct reprogramming to induced human expanded potential stem cells under feeder-based and feeder-free culture conditions.

Read the full paper: Co-activation of the super-enhancer complex SOX2 and HDAC1 confers temozolomide resistance by promoting PDGFB transcription in glioblastoma

Read the full paper: Sox2 protein stability is enhanced by BRafV600E and Pten deletion in adult neural stem/progenitor cells

To characterise human-specific gene-regulatory signatures, we studied chromatin accessibility and gene expression in aRG, bRG, bIPs, and neurons during great ape cortical development (Fig. 1a). We generated cerebral organoids (CeOs)32 from gorilla, chimpanzee, and human iPSCs (Fig. 1b), which contain SOX2+ aRG and bRG, EOMES+ bIPs and BCL11B+ neurons, comparable to human foetal brain tissue (Fig. 1c), and express the forebrain marker FOXG1 (Supplementary Fig. 1a). Application of the lipophilic dye DiI to the surface of CeOs revealed the presence of bRG with characteristic basal processes (Fig. 1d and Supplementary Fig. 1b), including morphological variety previously described in macaque and human foetal cortex12,13. Moreover, immunohistochemistry identified bRG labelled with classical markers (SOX2+, EOMES–, HOPX+, and pVIM+ with a basal process) in the subventricular zone (Supplementary Fig. 1c), confirming that CeOs can be used to study bRG. We next aimed to isolate specific cell populations from CeOs derived from all three species as well as from human foetal cortex. A key consideration was the developmental stage at which to perform these analyses. We selected week 8 of CeO development and gestational weeks (GW) 13–14 of human foetal cortex, as all four cell types of interest are present at these stages (Fig...

Read the full paper: Dynamic SOX2 gene expression revealed by phase-separated single RNA imaging in live porcine cells