SOX7 Target Genes and their Contribution to its Tumor Suppressive Function

As a transcription factor, SOX7 suppresses cancer development. However, only a few genes were demonstrated as SOX7-activated targets in cancer-irrelevant contexts. We used microarray chips to determine SOX7 target genes in breast cancer cells and discovered multiple signaling pathways altered by ectopic SOX7. We also investigated several genes for their roles in SOX7-mediated tumor suppression. Our study innovatively revealed SOX7 target gene profile in a cancer-relevant context and identified several SOX7-repressed target genes. Special MDA-MB-231 cells were generated that could inducibly express ectopic SOX7 with doxycycline (DOX) addition. When DOX was added to the medium, cells were collected at the time points of 6, 12 and 24 h. The cells of the control group were cultured for 24 h without treatment of DOX. Therefore, we totally collected 4 samples with each sample triplicated. Total RNA was isolated from each sample and gene expression levels were profiled on the Affymetrix Gene Atlas U219 array strips.