Objective To investigate the expression pattern of the transcription factor SOX12 during the development and progression of liver cirrhosis and explore its potential biological significance.

Methods SOX12 expression levels in cirrhotic and normal liver tissues were detected by ELISA, and the association between SOX12 and the liver cirrhosis marker hyaluronic acid (HA) was analyzed by Western blot. Western blot was used to compare the expression of SOX12 in the hepatic stellate cell line LX2, the normal hepatocyte line Chang liver, and LX2 cells before and after activation. A time-dependent rat liver cirrhosis model was established to assess changes in SOX12 and Collagen I expression in liver tissues, while liver injury was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and serum biochemical parameters. Furthermore, transcriptomic data from the GEO database and the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database were utilized for bioinformatics analysis of SOX12 expression differences and subcellular localization in liver cirrhosis, to further validate its expression characteristics and potential functions.

Results Compared with normal liver tissues, SOX12 expression was significantly increased in cirrhotic liver tissues (P < 0.05), accompanied by elevated HA levels. Cell experiments demonstrated that SOX12 expression was significantly higher in LX2 cells than in Chang liver cells (P < 0.001), and SOX12 expression was further increased after LX2 activation compared with non-activated cells (P < 0.05). In the rat liver cirrhosis model, SOX12 expression gradually increased with prolonged modeling duration and exhibited a similar trend to Collagen I expression. Bioinformatics analysis further revealed that SOX12 expression progressively increased across different grades and stages of liver fibrosis and was predominantly localized in the nucleus, suggesting its potential involvement in transcriptional regulation and fibrosis-related processes.

Conclusion SOX12 is highly expressed in cirrhotic tissue and hepatic stellate cells, and is positively correlated with the severity of cirrhosis; this suggests that it may be involved in the development and progression of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, and holds promise as a potential biomarker reflecting the progression of cirrhosis.

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