Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41213799›Full record

ArticleGenes & development2026

SOX2 phosphorylation during mitosis limits genomic damage.

Charles A C Williams, Dounia Djeghloul, Nicolas Veland, Alhafidz Hamdan, Maria Kalantzaki, Erika Lo, Robert Illingworth, Alex Von Kriegsheim, Amanda G Fisher, Abdenour Soufi and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Genes & development, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Phosphorylation and DNA damage resolution coordinate SOX2-mediated reprogramming in vivo.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Charles A C WilliamsCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, United Kingdom.
Dounia DjeghloulMRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom.
Nicolas VelandMRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom.
Alhafidz HamdanCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, United Kingdom.
Maria KalantzakiCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, United Kingdom.
Erika LoCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, United Kingdom.
Robert IllingworthCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-9275-1933
Alex Von KriegsheimCancer Research UK Scotland Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-4952-8573
Amanda G FisherMRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom.
Abdenour SoufiCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, United Kingdom.
Steven M PollardCentre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, United Kingdom; steven.pollard@ed.ac.uk.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pioneer transcription factors (TFs) such as SOX2 play critical roles in the control of stem cell identity and are dysregulated in many human cancers. For example, SOX2 regulates the self-renewal of neural stem cells (NSCs) and is typically highly expressed in glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs), where it is known to induce an immature NSC-like state. Here, we explored the regulation of SOX2 by phosphorylation during NSC division and identified an unexpected role for excessive SOX2 pioneer activity in driving mitotic damage. We found that SOX2 phosphorylation during mitosis is a key switch that prevents promiscuous chromatin binding across the genome. Without this regulatory control, excessive SOX2 in mitosis triggers chromatin opening, resulting in increased mitotic transit times and increased chromosomal damage. Therefore, elevated levels of SOX2 in cancers may have dual oncogenic roles: inducing stemness during interphase via its well-known transcriptional roles but simultaneously promoting chromosomal disruptions through unconstrained pioneer factor activity.

Indexed as

DNA DamageMitosisSOXB1 Transcription FactorsAnimalsChromatinHumansMiceNeural Stem CellsPhosphorylationChromatinSOXB1 Transcription FactorsDNA damageheterochromatinmitosismitotic bookmarkingneural stem cellphosphorylationSOX2transcription

Identifiers

PMID41213799
PMCPMC12863253

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.