Finally, CONPs obviously suppressed the growth of human melanoma in tumor-bearing nonobese diabetic-severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD-SCID) mice, accompanied with tumors structural necrosis and fibrosis remarkably and decreased expression of CD271, SOX10 and MITF.
This was accompanied by increased expression of E-cadherin, p16, and MC1R and decreased expression of melanoma malignancy markers including SOX10, Nestin, and ABCB5.
Positive staining for SOX10 and the S100 protein are often used in the evaluation of challenging melanocytic neoplasms including melanoma in patient samples.
This is just one of the possible roles of SOX10, which contributes to melanomagenesis by regulating the SOX10-MITF pathway, but also to melanoma cell survival, proliferation and metastasis formation.
In conclusion, our results demonstrated that SOX10 acted as an oncogene and was negatively regulated by miR-31, which supports the potential therapeutic strategy against melanoma by targeting the miR-31-SOX10 axis.
Shave biopsy and immunohistochemical studies revealed that the tumor was composed of melanoma (highlighted by SOX10 and MART-1, with high Ki-67 proliferative index) intermixed with nodular basal cell carcinoma (highlighted by pan-cytokeratin and Ber-EP4).
SOX10 was strongly expressed in the benign tissues, but for the malignant tumors superficial spreading melanomas stained stronger than nodular malignant melanomas (P=0.008).
Our findings provide novel insights into the regulatory mechanisms of melanocyte proliferation and may have implications for our understanding of the roles of SOX10 and MCM5 in abnormal melanocyte proliferation disorders such as cutaneous melanoma.
Somatic mutations in SOX10, a transcription factor, which acts upstream of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor and synergizes with microphthalmia-associated transcription factor, was identified in some melanoma cell lines.
We identified melanoma inhibitory activity (MIA) as a direct target gene of SOX10, which is an essential protein for melanoma cell migration and invasion.
High SOX9 expression was predominantly detected in patients with distant melanoma metastases whereas SOX10 was present in the different stages of melanoma.
These data further our understanding of SOX10 protein regulation and provide critical information for identification of molecular pathways that modulate SOX10 protein levels in melanoma, with the ultimate goal of discovering novel targets for more effective combinatorial therapeutic approaches for melanoma patients.