Here, we review the roles of SOX17 in cancer and discuss its cross-talk with the WNT/β-catenin pathway, potentially reconciling its activity as re-engineered reprogramming factor and mutated cancer driver gene.
The SoxF family (SOX7, SOX17, SOX18) plays an important role in angio- and lymphangiogenesis, with SOX18 seemingly being an attractive target for anti-angiogenic therapy and the treatment of metastatic disease in cancer.
We identified networks regulated by known cancer drivers such as GATA3 and FOXA1 (breast cancer), SOX17 and FOXA2 (endometrial cancer), and NFE2L2, SOX2, and TP63 (squamous cell lung cancer).
Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that aberrant Sox17 promoter methylation in cancer tissues and plasma DNA was associated with poor DFS (P < 0.005) and overall survival (OS) (P < 0.005).
SOX17 methylation was found in progression tendency with 0% of normal mucosa, 39% of grade 1 dysplasia, 48% of grades 2 and 3 dysplasia, and 65% of primary cancer.
SOX17 mRNA was almost undetectable in human cancer cell lines HL-60, HeLa S3, K-562, MOLT-4, Raji, SW480, A549, G-361, and also in 66 cases of human primary tumors derived from various tissues, except one case of primary cervical cancer.