Sex Determining Region Y Box Protein 15 (SOX15)

SOX15 encodes a member of the SOX (SRY-related HMG-box) family of transcription factors involved in the regulation of embryonic development and in the determination of the cell fate. The encoded protein may act as a transcriptional regulator after forming a protein complex with other proteins.

Sox15-null mice were viable and fertile and showed normal skeletal muscle development. In particular, satellite cells were normal, excluding a role for Sox15 in the development of satellite cells; however, skeletal muscle regeneration was impaired in the Sox15-null mice after crush injury, and cultured Sox15-null myoblasts displayed a marked delay in differentiation potential compared to wildtype cells.