SOX3 protein is associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) changes in human melanoma cell

Melanoma is a highly aggressive form of skin cancer characterized by rapid progression and extensive metastatic spread. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a biological phenomenon related to increasing invasion and metastasis, and SOX family proteins may be involved in this process. Thus, the study aims to investigate the role of the transcription factor SOX3 in EMT in human melanoma cells. Evaluation of SOX3 expression in single-cell transcriptomic data using the CZI CellxGene database. Human melanoma cell line SK-MEL-28 was transfected with a SOX3 expression vector to evaluate the impact of SOX3-induced expression on EMT markers, cellular viability, and wound healing. SOX3 is expressed in a broad range of skin cell types, as evidenced by single-cell transcriptomic analysis, including melanocytes. Cell viability assays using the MTT method revealed that SOX3 expression did not affect cell viability. Gene expression analysis assessed by qPCR demonstrated a downregulation of E-cadherin and N-cadherin and an upregulation of Snail. This study suggests that SOX3 expression is associated with transcriptional changes related to Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in melanoma cells. SOX3 has the potential to regulate genes associated with this phenomenon, thereby elucidating its involvement in the progression of melanoma and providing insights into potential therapeutic targets to combat this aggressive cancer.