SOX21
Description
The SOX21 (SRY-box transcription factor 21) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 13.
The SOX21 gene encodes the SOX-21 protein, a member of the Sox gene family of transcription factors. In chick embryos, Sox21 promotes neuronal differentiation by counteracting the activity of Sox1, Sox2, and Sox3, which maintain neural cells in an undifferentiated state. SOX21 knockout mice experience hair loss starting from day 11 after birth. New hair growth begins a few days later, but is followed by further hair loss. SOX21 is also expressed in the hair shaft cuticle of humans, suggesting that variants in the SOX21 gene could contribute to some human hair loss conditions.
SOX21 is also known as SOX25.
