Role of SOX2 in the etiology of embryonal carcinoma, based on analysis of the NCCIT and NT2 cell lines

The transcription factor SOX2, associated with amongst others OCT3/4, is essential for maintenance of pluripotency and selfrenewal of embryonic stem cells. SOX2 is highly expressed in embryonal carcinoma (EC), the stem cell component of malignant nonseminomatous germ cell tumors, referred to as germ cell cancer (GCC). In fact, OCT3/4 together with SOX2 is an informative diagnostic tool for EC in a clinical setting. Several studies support the hypothesis that SOX2 is a relevant oncogenic factor in various cancers and recently, SOX2 has been suggested as a putative therapeutic target for early stage EC. We demonstrate the presence of genomic amplification of SOX2 in an EC cell line, NCCIT, using array comparative genome hybridization and fluorescence in situ hybridization. Down-regulation of SOX2 by targeted siR