Expression analysis of SOX14 during retinoic acid induced neural differentiation of embryonal carcinoma cells and assessment of the effect of its ectopic expression on SOXB members in HeLa cells

PLoS One. 2014 Mar 17;9(3):e91852. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091852. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

SOX14 is a member of the SOXB2 subgroup of transcription factors implicated in neural development. Although the first SOX14 gene in vertebrates was cloned and characterized more than a decade ago and its expression profile during development was revealed in various animal model systems, the role of this gene during neural development is largely unknown. In the present study we analyzed the expression of SOX14 in human NT2/D1 and mouse P19 pluripotent embryonal carcinoma cells. We demonstrated that it is expressed in both cell lines and upregulated during retinoic acid induced neural differentiation. We showed that SOX14 was expressed in both neuronal and non-neuronal differentiated derivatives, as revealed by immunocytochemistry. Since it was previously proposed that increased SOXB2 proteins level interfere with the activity of SOXB1 counteracting partners, we compared expression patterns of SOXB members during retinoic acid induction of embryonal carcinoma cells. We revealed that upregulation of SOX14 expression is accompanied by alterations in the expression patterns of SOXB1 members. In order to analyze the potential cross-talk between them, we generated SOX14 expression construct. The ectopic expression of SOX14 was demonstrated at the mRNA level in NT2/D1, P19 and HeLa cells, while an increased level of SOX14 protein was detected in HeLa cells only. By transient transfection experiments in HeLa cells we showed for the first time that ectopic expression of SOX14 repressed SOX1 expression, whereas no significant effect on SOX2, SOX3 and SOX21 was observed. Data presented here provide an insight into SOX14 expression during in vitro neural differentiation of embryonal carcinoma cells and demonstrate the effect of its ectopic expression on protein levels of SOXB members in HeLa cells. Obtained results contribute to better understanding the role of one of the most conserved SOX proteins.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Astrocytes / metabolism
  • Astrocytes / pathology
  • Biomarkers / metabolism
  • Cell Differentiation / drug effects*
  • Cell Differentiation / genetics*
  • Cell Line
  • Embryonal Carcinoma Stem Cells / drug effects
  • Embryonal Carcinoma Stem Cells / metabolism*
  • Embryonal Carcinoma Stem Cells / pathology*
  • Gene Expression
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic* / drug effects
  • Genes, Reporter
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Mice
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Neurons / pathology
  • SOXB1 Transcription Factors / genetics
  • SOXB1 Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • SOXB2 Transcription Factors / genetics*
  • SOXB2 Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • Tretinoin / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • SOXB1 Transcription Factors
  • SOXB2 Transcription Factors
  • Tretinoin

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Republic of Serbia (Grant No 173051). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.