Notably, the mRNA expression levels of somatic and embryonic stem cell markers related to cancer stemness, including CD133, ABCG2, Nanog, Oct4 and Sox2, were significantly increased in A549 and H1703 cells stably transduced with miR-582-3p but reduced in response to the presence of miR-582-3p-sponge in H1975 cells (Fig. 4b). This evidence concerns the gene SOX2 and cancer.