# SOX21

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/sox21/  
OnCo record `sox21` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

SOX21 (Transcription factor SOX-21) is a gene whose normal job is to hold cell growth in check. The public catalogues list it as a tumour suppressor, and it is called a cancer driver by mutation analysis of patient cohorts. Tied to Prostate cancer.

## Summary

May play a role as an activator of transcription of OPRM1. Overexpression of SOX21 can up-regulate the OPRM1 distal promoter activity in mor-expressing neuronal cells. May play a role in ameloblast differentiation.

IntOGen calls it a driver in 1 cohort (0 activating, 1 loss-of-function), covering Prostate Adenocarcinoma.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: SRY-box transcription factor 21; Transcription factor SOX-21; SOX25
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: SOX21
- Class: tumor-suppressor
- Biology: May play a role as an activator of transcription of OPRM1. Overexpression of SOX21 can up-regulate the OPRM1 distal promoter activity in mor-expressing neuronal cells. May play a role in ameloblast differentiation. Location: Nucleus (UniProt). Locus 13q32.1 (HGNC).
- Where found: Prostate cancer: IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (PRAD)

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: IntOGen calls it a loss-of-function (LoF) driver in 1 cohort. Evidence tier "cohort-driver" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:11197: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:11197
- UniProt Q9Y651: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q9Y651/entry
- NCBI Gene 11166: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/11166
- Ensembl ENSG00000125285: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000125285

## Connected records

- collections: [IntOGen](https://onco.cc/collections/intogen/)
- cancers: [Prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/sox21.json