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1.
Cell Rep ; 43(3): 113927, 2024 Mar 26.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38451815

Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor of childhood. While MYCN and mutant anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALKF1174L) cooperate in tumorigenesis, how ALK contributes to tumor formation remains unclear. Here, we used a human stem cell-based model of neuroblastoma. Mis-expression of ALKF1174L and MYCN resulted in shorter latency compared to MYCN alone. MYCN tumors resembled adrenergic, while ALK/MYCN tumors resembled mesenchymal, neuroblastoma. Transcriptomic analysis revealed enrichment in focal adhesion signaling, particularly the extracellular matrix genes POSTN and FN1 in ALK/MYCN tumors. Patients with ALK-mutant tumors similarly demonstrated elevated levels of POSTN and FN1. Knockdown of POSTN, but not FN1, delayed adhesion and suppressed proliferation of ALK/MYCN tumors. Furthermore, loss of POSTN reduced ALK-dependent activation of WNT signaling. Reciprocally, inhibition of the WNT pathway reduced expression of POSTN and growth of ALK/MYCN tumor cells. Thus, ALK drives neuroblastoma in part through a feedforward loop between POSTN and WNT signaling.


Neuroblastoma , Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases , Humans , Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase/genetics , Cell Adhesion Molecules , Cell Line, Tumor , N-Myc Proto-Oncogene Protein/genetics , N-Myc Proto-Oncogene Protein/metabolism , Neuroblastoma/pathology , Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/metabolism , Wnt Signaling Pathway
2.
Cell Stem Cell ; 25(3): 433-446.e7, 2019 09 05.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31204176

Human neural stem cell cultures provide progenitor cells that are potential cells of origin for brain cancers. However, the extent to which genetic predisposition to tumor formation can be faithfully captured in stem cell lines is uncertain. Here, we evaluated neuroepithelial stem (NES) cells, representative of cerebellar progenitors. We transduced NES cells with MYCN, observing medulloblastoma upon orthotopic implantation in mice. Significantly, transcriptomes and patterns of DNA methylation from xenograft tumors were globally more representative of human medulloblastoma compared to a MYCN-driven genetically engineered mouse model. Orthotopic transplantation of NES cells generated from Gorlin syndrome patients, who are predisposed to medulloblastoma due to germline-mutated PTCH1, also generated medulloblastoma. We engineered candidate cooperating mutations in Gorlin NES cells, with mutation of DDX3X or loss of GSE1 both accelerating tumorigenesis. These findings demonstrate that human NES cells provide a potent experimental resource for dissecting genetic causation in medulloblastoma.


Basal Cell Nevus Syndrome/genetics , Brain Neoplasms/genetics , Medulloblastoma/genetics , N-Myc Proto-Oncogene Protein/metabolism , Neural Stem Cells/physiology , Neuroepithelial Cells/physiology , Pluripotent Stem Cells/physiology , Animals , Basal Cell Nevus Syndrome/metabolism , Basal Cell Nevus Syndrome/pathology , Brain Neoplasms/metabolism , Brain Neoplasms/pathology , Carcinogenesis/genetics , DEAD-box RNA Helicases/genetics , Disease Models, Animal , Genetic Engineering , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Humans , Medulloblastoma/metabolism , Medulloblastoma/pathology , Mice , Mice, SCID , N-Myc Proto-Oncogene Protein/genetics , Neoplasm Proteins/genetics , Patched-1 Receptor/genetics , Stem Cell Transplantation , Transplantation, Heterologous
3.
Sci Rep ; 6: 19727, 2016 Jan 27.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26812940

Neural crest cells (NCC) are stem cells that generate different lineages, including neuroendocrine, melanocytic, cartilage, and bone. The differentiation potential of NCC varies according to the level from which cells emerge along the neural tube. For example, only anterior "cranial" NCC form craniofacial bone, whereas solely posterior "trunk" NCC contribute to sympathoadrenal cells. Importantly, the isolation of human fetal NCC carries ethical and scientific challenges, as NCC induction typically occur before pregnancy is detectable. As a result, current knowledge of NCC biology derives primarily from non-human organisms. Important differences between human and non-human NCC, such as expression of HNK1 in human but not mouse NCC, suggest a need to study human NCC directly. Here, we demonstrate that current protocols to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells (PSC) to NCC are biased toward cranial NCC. Addition of retinoic acid drove trunk-related markers and HOX genes characteristic of a posterior identity. Subsequent treatment with bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) enhanced differentiation to sympathoadrenal cells. Our approach provides methodology for detailed studies of human NCC, and clarifies roles for retinoids and BMPs in the differentiation of human PSC to trunk NCC and to sympathoadrenal lineages.


Cell Differentiation , Neural Crest/cytology , Neural Crest/embryology , Pluripotent Stem Cells/cytology , Pluripotent Stem Cells/metabolism , Biomarkers , Bone Morphogenetic Proteins/metabolism , Cell Differentiation/drug effects , Cells, Cultured , Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/drug effects , Homeodomain Proteins/genetics , Homeodomain Proteins/metabolism , Humans , Pluripotent Stem Cells/drug effects , Signal Transduction , Tretinoin/metabolism , Tretinoin/pharmacology
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