The Sperm Laboratory, Institute of Cell and Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yu Hang Tang Road, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.
Mol Biol Rep. 2013 Mar;40(3):2187-94. doi: 10.1007/s11033-012-2279-3. Epub 2012 Nov 27.
The Sox (Sry-type HMG box) genes encode a group of proteins characterized by the existence of an SRY (sex-determining region on Y chromosome) box, a 79 amino acid motif that encodes an HMG (high mobility group) domain which can bind and bend DNA, which is the only part in SRY that is conserved between species. The Sox gene family functions in many aspects in embryogenesis, including testis development, CNS neurogenesis, oligodendrocyte development, chondrogenesis, neural crest cell development and other respects. The Sox gene family was originally identified through homology with Sry. The Sry gene is the mammalian testis-determining gene. It functions to open the testis determination pathway directly and close the ovary pathway indirectly. Sry and Sox9 are the most important two genes expressed during testis determination. Besides, researchers have found that Sox8 and Sox9 have functions in the male fertility maintenance after birth. In this review, information was evaluated from mouse or from human if not mentioned otherwise.
Sox（Sry 型 HMG 盒）基因编码的一组蛋白质的特征是存在一个 Sry（Y 染色体性别决定区）盒，这是一个 79 个氨基酸的基序，编码一个 HMG（高迁移率族）结构域，该结构域可以结合和弯曲 DNA，这是 Sry 中在物种间保守的唯一部分。Sox 基因家族在胚胎发生的许多方面发挥作用，包括睾丸发育、中枢神经系统神经发生、少突胶质细胞发育、软骨形成、神经嵴细胞发育等方面。Sox 基因家族最初是通过与 Sry 的同源性来识别的。Sry 基因是哺乳动物睾丸决定基因。它的作用是直接打开睾丸决定途径，间接关闭卵巢途径。Sry 和 Sox9 是睾丸决定过程中表达最重要的两个基因。此外，研究人员发现 Sox8 和 Sox9 在出生后男性生育力维持中具有功能。在这篇综述中，如果没有特别说明，信息是从老鼠或人类中评估的。
