Regulatory Mechanisms of SPARC Overexpression in Melanoma Progression.

ABSTRACT: The expression of the Secreted Protein, Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) gene in human melanoma increases during progression and is associated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is a major determinant of metastasis in melanoma patients. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms that control SPARC expression in this context remain elusive. Herein, we identified Paired-related homeobox 1 (PRRX1), an EMT transcription factor, as a transcriptional activator of SPARC by direct binding to the promoter, thereby increasing its activity. Moreover, we found a strong positive correlation between SPARC and PRRX1 expression levels in clinical samples and cell lines. Furthermore, the switch from the proliferative/melanocytic phenotype toward the invasive/me

SUBMITTER: Vinyals A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12429502 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature