Global gene expression profiling revealed particularly prominent differential expression of genes, including ITGA7, MYF5, MYF6, MYOD1, MYOG, and PAX7, involved in muscle development and function, providing strong argument for grouping inflammatory leiomyosarcoma with myogenic sarcomas, rather than with myofibroblastic lesions.
Furthermore, mechanistic studies revealed that Pax7 can promote sarcoma metastasis in vivo through MyoD-dependent regulation of pro-metastatic miR-182.