Spontaneous regression of neuroblastoma (NB) resembles the developmentally regulated programmed cell death (PCD) of sympathetic neurons. Regressing tumor cells express high levels of the nerve growth factor (NGF) receptors TRKA and p75NTR and are dependent on NGF for survival; however, the underlying molecular mechanism remains elusive. Here, we show that UNC5D, a dependence receptor that is directly targeted by p53 family members, is highly expressed in favorable NBs. NGF withdrawal strongly upregulated UNC5D, E2F1, and p53 in human primary favorable NBs. The induced UNC5D was cleaved by caspases 2/3, and the released intracellular fragment translocated into the nucleus and interacted with E2F1 to selectively transactivate the proapoptotic target gene. The cleavage of UNC5D and its induction of apoptosis were strongly inhibited by addition of netrin-1.
Yuyan Zhu, Yuanyuan Li, Seiki Haraguchi, Meng Yu, Miki Ohira, Toshinori Ozaki, Atsuko Nakagawa, Toshikazu Ushijima, Eriko Isogai, Haruhiko Koseki, Yohko Nakamura, Cuize Kong, Patrick Mehlen, Hirofumi Arakawa, Akira Nakagawara
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