The many faces of Sox2 function in neural crest development

Neural crest (NC) cells give rise to a wide variety of cell types and tissues, such as neurons and glial cells in the peripheral nervous system. Sox2, which encodes an HMG‐box transcription factor, is known to mediate pluripotency of primordial germ cells and embryonic stem (ES)/induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, and to regulate central nervous system development. Previous studies have revealed that Sox2 is also an important regulator of NC development. This review summarizes the well‐established inhibitory roles of Sox2 in NC formation and subsequent neuronal differentiation of NC‐derived cells. This review also covers recent studies suggesting additional roles for Sox2 in early NC development, neurogenesis, and glial differentiation of NC‐derived cells. Previous studies have revealed that Sox2 is an important regulator of neural crest development, and this review article summarizes the well‐established inhibitory roles of Sox2 in neural crest formation and neuronal differentiation of neural‐crest‐derived cells. This review also covers recent studies suggesting additional roles of Sox2 in early NC development, neurogenesis, and glial differentiation of NC‐derived cells.