Sequential requirement of Sox4 and Sox11 during development of the sympathetic nervous system.

The highly related transcription factors Sox4 and Sox11 are expressed in the developing sympathetic nervous system. In the mouse, Sox11 appears first, whereas Sox4 is prevalent later. Using mouse mutagenesis and overexpression strategies in chicken, we studied the role of both SoxC proteins in this tissue. Neither Sox4 nor Sox11 predominantly functioned by promoting pan-neuronal or noradrenergic differentiation of sympathetic neurons as might have been expected from studies in neuronal precursors of the central nervous system. The transcriptional network that regulates the differentiation of sympathetic neurons remained intact and expression of noradrenergic markers showed only minor alterations. Instead, Sox11 was required in early sympathetic ganglia for proliferation of tyrosine hydroxylase-expressing cells, whereas Sox4 ensured the survival of these cells at later stages. In the absence of both Sox4 and Sox11, sympathetic ganglia remained hypoplastic throughout embryogenesis because of consecutive proliferation and survival defects. As a consequence, sympathetic ganglia were rudimentary in the adult and sympathetic innervation of target tissues was impaired leading to severe dysautonomia.

Neuroblastoma phox2b variants stimulate proliferation and dedifferentiation of immature sympathetic neurons.

Neuroblastoma is a pediatric tumor that is thought to arise from autonomic precursors in the neural crest. Mutations in the PHOX2B gene have been observed in familial and sporadic forms of neuroblastoma and represent the first defined genetic predisposition for neuroblastoma. Here, we address the mechanisms that may underlie this predisposition, comparing the function of wild-type and mutant Phox2b proteins ectopically expressed in proliferating, embryonic sympathetic neurons. Phox2b displays a strong antiproliferative effect, which is lost in all Phox2b neuroblastoma variants analyzed. In contrast, an increase in sympathetic neuron proliferation is elicited by Phox2b variants with mutations in the homeodomain when endogenous Phox2b levels are lowered by siRNA-mediated knockdown to mimic the situation of heterozygous PHOX2B mutations in neuroblastoma. The increased proliferation is blocked by Hand2 knockdown and the antiproliferative Phox2b effects are rescued by Hand2 overexpression, implying Hand2 in Phox2b-mediated proliferation control. A Phox2b variant with a nonsense mutation in the homeodomain elicits, in addition, a decreased expression of characteristic marker genes. Together, these results suggest that PHOX2B mutations predispose to neuroblastoma by increasing proliferation and promoting dedifferentiation of cells in the sympathoadrenergic lineage.

The Gata3 transcription factor is required for the survival of embryonic and adult sympathetic neurons.

The transcription factor Gata3 is essential for the development of sympathetic neurons and adrenal chromaffin cells. As Gata3 expression is maintained up to the adult stage, we addressed its function in differentiated sympathoadrenal cells at embryonic and adult stages by conditional Gata3 elimination. Inactivation of Gata3 in embryonic DBH-expressing neurons elicits a strong reduction in neuron numbers due to apoptotic cell death and reduced proliferation. No selective effect on noradrenergic gene expression (TH and DBH) was observed. Interestingly, Gata3 elimination in DBH-expressing neurons of adult animals also results in a virtually complete loss of sympathetic neurons. In the Gata3-deficient population, the expression of anti-apoptotic genes (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and NFkappaB) is diminished, whereas the expression of pro-apoptotic genes (Bik, Bok, and Bmf) was increased. The expression of noradrenergic genes (TH and DBH) is not affected. These results demonstrate that Gata3 is continuously required for maintaining survival but not differentiation in the sympathetic neuron lineage up to mature neurons of adult animals.

In vivo role for CREB signaling in the noradrenergic differentiation of sympathetic neurons.

Signaling pathways involving cAMP and CREB have been implicated in several aspects of sympathetic neuron differentiation. Here, we used in vivo loss-of-function approaches in both mouse and chick embryos to characterize the physiological role of cAMP/CREB. Whereas sympathetic neuron development proceeds normally in CREB-deficient mouse embryos, a decrease in noradrenergic differentiation (TH, DBH) was observed in chick sympathetic ganglia in response to ACREB, a dominant-negative CREB variant which interferes with the function of all CREB family members. In contrast, expression of the generic neuronal marker SCG10 was not affected by ACREB. As the decrease in noradrenergic gene expression is compensated at later stages of development and TH expression in differentiated neurons is not CREB-dependent, a transient role for CREB is proposed, accelerating noradrenergic but not generic neuronal differentiation of sympathetic neurons.

Distinct roles of hand2 in developing and adult autonomic neurons.

The bHLH transcription factor Hand2 is essential for the acquisition and maintenance of noradrenergic properties of embryonic sympathetic neurons and controls neuroblast proliferation. Hand2 is also expressed in embryonic and postnatal parasympathetic ganglia and remains expressed in sympathetic neurons up to the adult stage. Here, we address its function in developing parasympathetic and adult sympathetic neurons. We conditionally deleted Hand2 in the parasympathetic sphenopalatine ganglion by crossing a line of floxed Hand2 mice with DbhiCre transgenic mice, taking advantage of the transient Dbh expression in parasympathetic ganglia. Hand2 elimination does not affect Dbh expression and sphenopalatine ganglion size at E12.5 and E16.5, in contrast to sympathetic ganglia. These findings demonstrate different functions for Hand2 in the parasympathetic and sympathetic lineage. Our previous Hand2 knockdown in postmitotic, differentiated chick sympathetic neurons resulted in decreased expression of noradrenergic marker genes but it was unclear whether Hand2 is required for maintaining noradrenergic neuron identity in adult animals. We now show that Hand2 elimination in adult Dbh-expressing sympathetic neurons does not decrease the expression of Th and Dbh, in contrast to the situation during development. However, gene expression profiling of adult sympathetic neurons identified 75 Hand2-dependent target genes. Interestingly, a notable proportion of down-regulated genes (15%) encode for proteins with synaptic and neurotransmission functions. These results demonstrate a change in Hand2 target genes during maturation of sympathetic neurons. Whereas Hand2 controls genes regulating noradrenergic differentiation during development, Hand2 seems to be involved in the regulation of genes controlling neurotransmission in adult sympathetic neurons. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 76: 1111-1124, 2016.

Activated Alk triggers prolonged neurogenesis and Ret upregulation providing a therapeutic target in ALK-mutated neuroblastoma.

Activating mutations of the ALK (Anaplastic lymphoma Kinase) gene have been identified in sporadic and familial cases of neuroblastoma, a cancer of early childhood arising from the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). To decipher ALK function in neuroblastoma predisposition and oncogenesis, we have characterized knock-in (KI) mice bearing the two most frequent mutations observed in neuroblastoma patients. A dramatic enlargement of sympathetic ganglia is observed in AlkF1178L mice from embryonic to adult stages associated with an increased proliferation of sympathetic neuroblasts from E14.5 to birth. In a MYCN transgenic context, the F1178L mutation displays a higher oncogenic potential than the R1279Q mutation as evident from a shorter latency of tumor onset. We show that tumors expressing the R1279Q mutation are sensitive to ALK inhibition upon crizotinib treatment. Furthermore, our data provide evidence that activated ALK triggers RET upregulation in mouse sympathetic ganglia at birth as well as in murine and human neuroblastoma. Using vandetanib, we show that RET inhibition strongly impairs tumor growth in vivo in both MYCN/KI AlkR1279Q and MYCN/KI AlkF1178L mice. Altogether, our findings demonstrate the critical role of activated ALK in SNS development and pathogenesis and identify RET as a therapeutic target in ALK mutated neuroblastoma.

Progenitor cell maintenance and neurogenesis in sympathetic ganglia involves Notch signaling.

Differentiation of noradrenergic neurons from neural crest-derived precursors results in the formation of primary sympathetic ganglia. As sympathetic neurons continue to divide after the acquisition of adrenergic and neuronal properties it was unclear, whether the increase in neuron number during neurogenesis is due to neuron proliferation rather than differentiation of progenitor cells. Here, we demonstrate Sox10-positive neural crest progenitor cells and continuous sympathetic neuron generation from Phox2b-positive autonomic progenitors during early chick sympathetic ganglion development. In vivo activation of Notch signaling resulted in a decreased neuronal population, whereas expression of the Notch signaling inhibitor Su(H)(DBM) increased the proportion of Scg10-positive neurons. Similar results were obtained for sensory dorsal root ganglia (DRG). The effects of Notch gain- and loss-of-function experiments support the notion that progenitor maintenance and neuron differentiation from progenitor cells are essential for neurogenesis also during early sympathetic ganglion development.

Essential role of Gata transcription factors in sympathetic neuron development.

Sympathetic neurons are specified during their development from neural crest precursors by a network of crossregulatory transcription factors, which includes Mash1, Phox2b, Hand2 and Phox2a. Here, we have studied the function of Gata2 and Gata3 zinc-finger transcription factors in autonomic neuron development. In the chick, Gata2 but not Gata3 is expressed in developing sympathetic precursor cells. Gata2 expression starts after Mash1, Phox2b, Hand2 and Phox2a expression, but before the onset of the noradrenergic marker genes Th and Dbh, and is maintained throughout development. Gata2 expression is affected in the chick embryo by Bmp gain- and loss-of-function experiments, and by overexpression of Phox2b, Phox2a, Hand2 and Mash1. Together with the lack of Gata2/3 expression in Phox2b knockout mice, these results characterize Gata2 as member of the Bmp-induced cluster of transcription factors. Loss-of-function experiments resulted in a strong reduction in the size of the sympathetic chain and in decreased Th expression. Ectopic expression of Gata2 in chick neural crest precursors elicited the generation of neurons with a non-autonomic, Th-negative phenotype. This implies a function for Gata factors in autonomic neuron differentiation, which, however, depends on co-regulators present in the sympathetic lineage. The present data establish Gata2 and Gata3 in the chick and mouse, respectively, as essential members of the transcription factor network controlling sympathetic neuron development.