Sox2 belongs to a diverse family of structurally-related transcription factors whose primary structure contains a 79-residue DNA-binding domain, called high mobility group (HMG) box. It plays an essential role in maintaining the pluripotency of
embryonic stem cells (ESC) and the determination of cell fate. Microarray analysis showed that Sox2 regulates the expression of
multiple genes involved in embryonic development, including FGF-4, YES1 and ZFP206. Sox2 acts as a transcriptional activator after forming a ternary complex with Oct3/4 and a conserved non-coding DNA sequence (CNS1) located approximately 2 kb
upstream of the RAX promoter. The introduction of Sox2, Oct4, Myc, and Klf4 into human dermal fibroblasts isolated from a skin biopsy of a healthy research fellow was sufficient to confer a pluripotent state upon the fibroblast genome. The reprogrammed cells thus obtained resemble ESC in morphology, gene expression, and in their capacity to form teratomas in immune-deficient mice. Sox2 and other transcription factors have been introduced into cells by DNA transfection, viral infection, or microinjection.
