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Genetic predisposition to neuroblastoma results from a regulatory polymorphism that promotes the adrenergic cell state
Nina Weichert-Leahey, … , John M. Maris, A. Thomas Look
Nina Weichert-Leahey, … , John M. Maris, A. Thomas Look
Published May 15, 2023
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2023;133(10):e166919. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI166919.
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Research Article Genetics Oncology

Genetic predisposition to neuroblastoma results from a regulatory polymorphism that promotes the adrenergic cell state

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Abstract

Childhood neuroblastomas exhibit plasticity between an undifferentiated neural crest–like mesenchymal cell state and a more differentiated sympathetic adrenergic cell state. These cell states are governed by autoregulatory transcriptional loops called core regulatory circuitries (CRCs), which drive the early development of sympathetic neuronal progenitors from migratory neural crest cells during embryogenesis. The adrenergic cell identity of neuroblastoma requires LMO1 as a transcriptional cofactor. Both LMO1 expression levels and the risk of developing neuroblastoma in children are associated with a single nucleotide polymorphism, G/T, that affects a GATA motif in the first intron of LMO1. Here, we showed that WT zebrafish with the GATA genotype developed adrenergic neuroblastoma, while knock-in of the protective TATA allele at this locus reduced the penetrance of MYCN-driven tumors, which were restricted to the mesenchymal cell state. Whole genome sequencing of childhood neuroblastomas demonstrated that TATA/TATA tumors also exhibited a mesenchymal cell state and were low risk at diagnosis. Thus, conversion of the regulatory GATA to a TATA allele in the first intron of LMO1 reduced the neuroblastoma-initiation rate by preventing formation of the adrenergic cell state. This mechanism was conserved over 400 million years of evolution, separating zebrafish and humans.

Authors

Nina Weichert-Leahey, Hui Shi, Ting Tao, Derek A. Oldridge, Adam D. Durbin, Brian J. Abraham, Mark W. Zimmerman, Shizhen Zhu, Andrew C. Wood, Deepak Reyon, J. Keith Joung, Richard A. Young, Sharon J. Diskin, John M. Maris, A. Thomas Look

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Figure 2

The development of MYCN-driven neuroblastomas is impaired in the TATA/TATA and lmo1-null backgrounds.

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The development of MYCN-driven neuroblastomas is impaired in the TATA/TA...
(A) Diagram illustrating the construction of the lmo1 GATA/TATA (GATA/TATA) zebrafish line in which TALEN-mediated gene editing was used to replace the G at rs2168101 with a T. The rs2168101 G resides within the first intron of the zebrafish lmo1 gene (exons 1 and 2 are denoted by blue boxes) and creates the first nucleotide of a GATA DNA-binding sequence (in bold). To facilitate the precise genome editing and knock-in of the T allele at this locus, we used TALEN gene-editing technology targeting the sequences flanking the G at rs2168101 (as indicated in red and green) together with a single-stranded DNA oligonucleotide containing a T instead of the G with short flanking homology arms of 20 nucleotides (TATA-ssOligo). To prevent TALEN binding to the 5′ arm and activity after successful knock-in of the TATA-ssOligo and to aid in the identification of embryos containing the modified sequence, the TATA-ssOligo was designed with 2 additional nucleotide changes (CC to replace TT in the 5′ homology arm, marked in bold) to create a new restriction site for TfiI (see also Supplemental Figure 3). (B) To analyze the effect of the rs2168101 G → T substitution on MYCN-induced neuroblastoma, compound transgenic zebrafish lines were created by crossing the transgenic lines Tg(dβh:MYCN) and Tg(dβh:EGFP) with the GATA/TATA knock-in line, as illustrated. The dβh:EGFP and dβh:MYCN lines, in which the zebrafish dβh promoter was used to facilitate tissue-specific expression of EGFP and MYCN, were established previously (24). (C) Representative fluorescent images of adult zebrafish showing EGFP-expressing tumors arising in the indicated transgenic lines. (D and E) Starting at 5 weeks postfertilization (wpf), zebrafish with the indicated genotypes were monitored biweekly for the presence of tumors by EGFP fluorescence microscopy. The graph shows a Kaplan-Meier analysis of the cumulative frequency of neuroblastomas in the transgenic lines. Statistical analysis was performed using the logrank test.

Copyright © 2023 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

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