MYCN is a member of the MYC family expressed in the nervous system, whose deregulation plays a key role in childhood malignancies such as neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma. Activation of MYCN by amplification or overexpression is frequently observed in these cancers and is associated with advanced, often incurable diseases. There is a great interest in elucidating downstream genes and signalling pathways modified by MYCN in paediatric cancers, to identify new therapeutic targets.

Brunel University London

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Frontiers in Oncology

Cancer Molecular Targets and Therapeutics

Frontiers in Pharmacology

Targeting MYCN in paediatric cancers

MYCN is the product of a gene frequently deregulated in childhood tumors that belongs to a small but very famous family of transcription factors whose prototype member is c-MYC. The other member of the family is L-MYC, identified as a gene amplified in a subset of lung cancers. c-MYC is widely expressed in normal tissues, is the most deregulated protooncogene in human cancer, and not surprisingly, it is the subject of intensive investigations in many laboratories worldwide. Clearly, decoding its function in tumorigenesis and finding ways of inhibiting its oncogenic activity would have a very large impact in terms of human health. In contrast to the broad significance of c-MYC, the expression of MYCN is temporally and spatially restricted during embryonal development, being detected mostly in cells of the developing nervous system. This more limited function is also reflected in human pathology, with only a few types of tumors presenting alterations of MYCN. These cancers arise in the nervous system, both central and peripheral, manifesting as medulloblastomas, gliomas, and neuroblastomas. Despite the fact that MYCN-positive tumors are relatively rare, their very aggressive nature and the pediatric setting make therapeutic treatments a clinical challenge.Increased expression of MYCN can be observed in cancers in the absence of overt aberrations of its gene structure, but about half of high-risk, metastatic neuroblastomas are characterized by amplification of the MYCN gene, leading to high mRNA and protein expression in tumor cells. Amplification of MYCN is also detected in neoplasias of the central nervous system, although at lower frequency than neuroblastoma. Importantly, it is now well established that MYCN is a direct driver of pediatric cancers: transgenic expression of MYCN in the neuroectoderm, the sympathetic tissue from which neuroblastoma originates in humans, or the cerebella that causes the development of neuroblastomas and medulloblastomas in mice (<a href="#B1">1</a>, <a href="#B2">2</a>). Furthermore, other oncogenes have been shown to transform cells of the nervous system by enhancing the expression of MYCN or by stabilizing its protein product (<a href="#B3">3</a>–<a href="#B5">5</a>). The central role of MYCN in pediatric cancers renders it an ideal candidate for gene therapy, if specific inhibitors be developed. Unfortunately, many years of research from the private and academic sectors have made evident that it is extremely difficult to find small molecule inhibitors targeting transcription factors such as c-MYC and MYCN. An answer to this almost intractable problem could be the use of drugs that indirectly affected the transcriptional activity of MYCN. For example, MYC gene expression depends on the activity of the co-factor bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) family member BRD4 that can be inhibited by a cell permeable compound called JQ1. Different research teams have demonstrated that tumors with deregulated MYCN are susceptible to JQ1 inhibition in vitro and in vivo (<a href="#B6">6</a>, <a href="#B7">7</a>). The MYCN protein requires the activity of the PI3K kinase pathway for stability. A research paper in this topic shows that newly engineered PI3K inhibitors, PIK-75 and PW-12, are able to destroy the MYCN protein in mouse models of neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma, suggesting that they might be developed into useful drugs for these cancers (<a href="#B8">8</a>). Another approach is to dissect the signaling pathways that lie downstream and upstream of MYCN, trying to illuminate the gene networks required for homeostasis of tumor cells with deregulated MYCN. Indeed, increased MYC expression is known to induce oncogenic stress that requires the balancing activity of a plethora of factors that can be exploited pharmacologically to induce “synthetic lethality.” In this regard, several papers in the research topic describe MYCN-activated genes [i.e., MDM2, SKP2, ornithine decarboxylase, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters] that could be used as potential targets for therapy (<a href="#B9">9</a>–<a href="#B12">12</a>). Another interesting aspect of MYCN biology highlighted in the papers from the Perini’s and Thiele’s laboratories is that the transcription factor is not only an activator of gene expression but also a mediator of transcriptional repression (<a href="#B13">13</a>, <a href="#B14">14</a>). The most recent view is that this activity might be as important as that of transcriptional activation in tumorigenesis. Several putative tumor suppressors have been identified as MYCN-repressed genes, including p75, TRKA, CASZ1, and clusterin (<a href="#B15">15</a>–<a href="#B18">18</a>). Notably, transcriptional repression is also achieved by MYCN via epigenetic modifications, suggesting that epigenetic drugs could be used in the clinic to successfully treat MYCN-amplified tumors. In this regard, preliminary evidence in vitro and in vivo indicates that histone deacetylase inhibitors or small molecule drugs targeting the histone methyltransferase EZH2 might be useful in the context of MYCN-amplified tumors (<a href="#B16">16</a>, <a href="#B18">18</a>).Last, but not least, MYCN could serve as a tumor-associated antigen given that its expression is only marginal in postnatal tissues. Overexpression of the MYCN protein outside the embryonal context could induce a break in the immunological tolerance and expose tumor cells to the attack of the immune system. The paper by the Pistoia’s team describes the possible role of MYCN as a tumor-associated antigen and strategies to generate cytotoxic T cells directed against pediatric tumors expressing the oncogene (<a href="#B19">19</a>). Immunological therapy with the antibody against tumor-associated disialoganglioside GD2 has shown some success in inducing remission in children with relapsed metastatic neuroblastomas (<a href="#B20">20</a>). Other forms of immunotherapy in clinical development are the generation of chimeric antigen receptor-engineered T cells that can be directed against tumor cells expressing the GD2 antigen such as neuroblastoma, sarcoma, and melanoma. One could speculate that MYCN is an even better antigen for immunotherapy because it is almost exclusively expressed by tumor, but not normal, cells.Despite pediatric cancers bearing activation of MYCN are extremely malignant, their dependence on this oncoprotein for proliferation and survival makes them potentially curable diseases when more efficient ways of gene targeting will be developed.The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Editorial: Targeting MYCN in Pediatric Cancers

The MYCN proto-oncogene is associated with poor outcome across a broad range of pediatric tumors. While amplification of MYCN drives subsets of high-risk neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma, dysregulation of MYCN in medulloblastoma (in the absence of amplification) also contributes to pathogenesis. Since PI3K stabilizes MYCN, we have used inhibitors of PI3K to drive degradation. In this study, we show PI3K inhibitors by themselves induce cell cycle arrest, with modest induction of apoptosis. In screening inhibitors of PI3K against MYCN, we identified PIK-75 and its derivative, PW-12, inhibitors of both PI3K and of protein kinases, to be highly effective in destabilizing MYCN. To determine the effects of PW-12 treatment in vivo, we analyzed a genetically engineered mouse model for MYCN-driven neuroblastoma and a model of MYCN-driven medulloblastoma. PW-12 showed significant activity in both models, inducing vascular collapse and regression of medulloblastoma with prominent apoptosis in both models. These results demonstrate that inhibitors of lipid and protein kinases can drive apoptosis in MYCN-driven cancers and support the importance of MYCN as a therapeutic target.

The MYCN proto-oncogene is associated with poor outcome across a broad range of pediatric tumors. While amplification of MYCN drives subsets of high-risk neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma, dysregulation of MYCN in medulloblastoma (in the absence of amplification) also contributes to pathogenesis. Since PI3K stabilizes MYCN, we have used inhibitors of PI3K to drive degradation. In this study, we show PI3K inhibitors by themselves induce cell cycle arrest, with modest induction of apoptosis. In screening inhibitors of PI3K against MYCN, we identified PIK-75 and its derivative, PW-12, inhibitors of both PI3K and of protein kinases, to be highly effective in destabilizing MYCN. To determine the effects of PW-12 treatment in vivo, we analyzed a genetically engineered mouse model for MYCN-driven neuroblastoma and a model of MYCN-driven medulloblastoma. PW-12 showed significant activity in both models, inducing vascular collapse and regression of medulloblastoma with prominent apoptosis in both models. These results demonstrate that inhibitors of lipid and protein kinases can drive apoptosis in MYCN-driven cancers and support the importance of MYCN as a therapeutic target.

Downregulation of MYCN through PI3K Inhibition in Mouse Models of Pediatric Neural Cancer

Neuroblastoma is the most common extra cranial solid tumor in childhood and the most frequently diagnosed neoplasm during the infancy. MYCN amplification and overexpression occur in about 25% of total neuroblastoma cases and this percentage increases at 30% in advanced stage neuroblastoma. So far, MYCN expression profile is still one of the most robust and significant prognostic markers for neuroblastoma outcome. MYCN is a transcription factor that belongs to the family of MYC oncoproteins, comprising c-MYC and MYCL genes. Deregulation of MYC oncoprotein expression is a crucial event involved in the occurrence of different types of malignant tumors. MYCN, as well as c-MYC, can heterodimerize with its partner MAX and activate the transcription of several target genes containing E-Box sites in their promoter regions. However, recent several lines of evidence have revealed that MYCN can repress at least as many genes as it activates, thus proposing a novel function of this protein in neuroblastoma biology. Whereas the mechanism by which MYCN can act as a transcriptional activator is relatively well known, very few studies has been done in the attempt to explain how MYCN can exert its transcription repression function. Here, we will review current knowledge about the mechanism of MYCN-mediated transcriptional repression and will emphasize its role as a repressor in the recruitment of a precise set of proteins to form complexes capable of down-regulating specific subsets of genes whose function is actively involved in apoptosis, cell differentiation, chemosensitivity, and cell motility. The finding that MYCN can also act as a repressor has widen our view on its role in oncogenesis and has posed the bases to search for novel therapeutic drugs that can specifically target its transcriptional repression function.

Neuroblastoma is the most common extra cranial solid tumor in childhood and the most frequently diagnosed neoplasm during the infancy. MYCN amplification and overexpression occur in about 25% of total neuroblastoma cases and this percentage increases at 30% in advanced stage neuroblastoma. So far, MYCN expression profile is still one of the most robust and significant prognostic markers for neuroblastoma outcome. MYCN is a transcription factor that belongs to the family of MYC oncoproteins, comprising c-MYC and MYCL genes. Deregulation of MYC oncoprotein expression is a crucial event involved in the occurrence of different types of malignant tumors. MYCN, as well as c-MYC, can heterodimerize with its partner MAX and activate the transcription of several target genes containing E-Box sites in their promoter regions. However, recent several lines of evidence have revealed that MYCN can repress at least as many genes as it activates, thus proposing a novel function of this protein in neuroblastoma biology. Whereas the mechanism by which MYCN can act as a transcriptional activator is relatively well known, very few studies has been done in the attempt to explain how MYCN can exert its transcription repression function. Here, we will review current knowledge about the mechanism of MYCN-mediated transcriptional repression and will emphasize its role as a repressor in the recruitment of a precise set of proteins to form complexes capable of down-regulating specific subsets of genes whose function is actively involved in apoptosis, cell differentiation, chemosensitivity, and cell motility. The finding that MYCN can also act as a repressor has widen our view on its role in oncogenesis and has posed the bases to search for novel therapeutic drugs that can specifically target its transcriptional repression function.

MYCN-mediated transcriptional repression in neuroblastoma: the other side of the coin

It is well known that Neuroblastoma (NB) patients whose tumors have an undifferentiated histology and a transcriptome enriched in cell cycle genes have a worse prognosis. This contrasts with the good prognoses of patients whose tumors have histologic evidence of differentiation and a transcriptome enriched in differentiation genes. Tumor cell lines from poor prognosis, high-risk patients contain a number of genetic alterations, including amplification of MYCN, 1pLOH, and unbalanced 11q or gains of Chr 17 and 7, and exhibit uncontrolled growth and an undifferentiated phenotype in in vitro culture. Yet treatment of such NB cell lines with retinoic acid results in growth control and induction of differentiation. This indicates that the signaling pathways that regulate cell growth and differentiation are not functionally lost but dysregulated. Agents such as retinoic acid normalize the signaling pathways and impose growth control and induction of differentiation. Recent studies in embryonic stem cells indicate that polycomb repressor complex proteins (PRC1 and PRC2) play a major role in regulating stem cell lineage specification and coordinating the shift from a transcriptome that supports self-renewal or growth to one that specifies lineage and controls growth. We have shown that in NB, the PRC2 complex is elevated in undifferentiated NB tumors and functions to suppress a number of tumor suppressor genes. This study will review the role of MYC genes in regulating the epigenome in normal development and explore how this role may be altered during tumorigenesis.

It is well known that Neuroblastoma (NB) patients whose tumors have an undifferentiated histology and a transcriptome enriched in cell cycle genes have a worse prognosis. This contrasts with the good prognoses of patients whose tumors have histologic evidence of differentiation and a transcriptome enriched in differentiation genes. Tumor cell lines from poor prognosis, high-risk patients contain a number of genetic alterations, including amplification of MYCN, 1pLOH, and unbalanced 11q or gains of Chr 17 and 7, and exhibit uncontrolled growth and an undifferentiated phenotype in in vitro culture. Yet treatment of such NB cell lines with retinoic acid results in growth control and induction of differentiation. This indicates that the signaling pathways that regulate cell growth and differentiation are not functionally lost but dysregulated. Agents such as retinoic acid normalize the signaling pathways and impose growth control and induction of differentiation. Recent studies in embryonic stem cells indicate that polycomb repressor complex proteins (PRC1 and PRC2) play a major role in regulating stem cell lineage specification and coordinating the shift from a transcriptome that supports self-renewal or growth to one that specifies lineage and controls growth. We have shown that in NB, the PRC2 complex is elevated in undifferentiated NB tumors and functions to suppress a number of tumor suppressor genes. This study will review the role of MYC genes in regulating the epigenome in normal development and explore how this role may be altered during tumorigenesis.

MYCN and the epigenome

Resistance to cytotoxic drugs is thought to be a major cause of treatment failure in childhood neuroblastoma, and members of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily may contribute to this phenomenon by active efflux of chemotherapeutic agents from cancer cells. As a member of the C subfamily of ABC transporters, multidrug resistance-associated protein MRP4/ABCC4 has the ability to export a variety of endogenous and exogenous substances across the plasma membrane. In light of its capacity for chemotherapeutic drug efflux, MRP4 has been studied in the context of drug resistance in a number of cancer cell types. However, MRP4 also influences cancer cell biology independently of chemotherapeutic drug exposure, which highlights the potential importance of endogenous MRP4 substrates in cancer biology. Furthermore, MRP4 is a direct transcriptional target of Myc family oncoproteins and expression of this transporter is a powerful independent predictor of clinical outcome in neuroblastoma. Together, these features suggest that inhibition of MRP4 may be an attractive therapeutic approach for neuroblastoma and other cancers that rely on MRP4. In this respect, existing options for MRP4 inhibition are relatively non-selective and thus development of more specific anti-MRP4 compounds should be a major focus of future work in this area.

Resistance to cytotoxic drugs is thought to be a major cause of treatment failure in childhood neuroblastoma, and members of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily may contribute to this phenomenon by active efflux of chemotherapeutic agents from cancer cells. As a member of the C subfamily of ABC transporters, multidrug resistance-associated protein MRP4/ABCC4 has the ability to export a variety of endogenous and exogenous substances across the plasma membrane. In light of its capacity for chemotherapeutic drug efflux, MRP4 has been studied in the context of drug resistance in a number of cancer cell types. However, MRP4 also influences cancer cell biology independently of chemotherapeutic drug exposure, which highlights the potential importance of endogenous MRP4 substrates in cancer biology. Furthermore, MRP4 is a direct transcriptional target of Myc family oncoproteins and expression of this transporter is a powerful independent predictor of clinical outcome in neuroblastoma. Together, these features suggest that inhibition of MRP4 may be an attractive therapeutic approach for neuroblastoma and other cancers that rely on MRP4. In this respect, existing options for MRP4 inhibition are relatively non-selective and thus development of more specific anti-MRP4 compounds should be a major focus of future work in this area.

ABCC4/MRP4: a MYCN-regulated transporter and potential therapeutic target in neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is the most common extra-cranial solid tumor of childhood. Despite significant advances, it currently still remains one of the most difficult childhood cancers to cure, with less than 40% of patients with high-risk disease being long-term survivors. MYCN is a proto-oncogene implicated to be directly involved in neuroblastoma development. Amplification of MYCN is associated with rapid tumor progression and poor prognosis. Novel therapeutic strategies which can improve the survival rates whilst reducing the toxicity in these patients are therefore required. Here we discuss genes regulated by MYCN in neuroblastoma, with particular reference to p53, SKP2, and DKK3 and strategies that may be employed to target them.

Neuroblastoma is the most common extra-cranial solid tumor of childhood. Despite significant advances, it currently still remains one of the most difficult childhood cancers to cure, with less than 40% of patients with high-risk disease being long-term survivors. MYCN is a proto-oncogene implicated to be directly involved in neuroblastoma development. Amplification of MYCN is associated with rapid tumor progression and poor prognosis. Novel therapeutic strategies which can improve the survival rates whilst reducing the toxicity in these patients are therefore required. Here we discuss genes regulated by MYCN in neuroblastoma, with particular reference to p53, SKP2, and DKK3 and strategies that may be employed to target them.

p53, SKP2, and DKK3 as MYCN Target Genes and Their Potential Therapeutic Significance

MYCN is a well-known oncogene over-expressed in different human malignancies including neuroblastoma (NB), rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma, astrocytoma, Wilms’ tumor, and small cell lung cancer. In the case of NB, MYCN amplification is an established biomarker of poor-prognosis. MYCN belongs to a family of transcription factors (the most important of which is C-MYC) that show a high degree of homology. Down-regulation of MYC protein expression leads to tumor regression in animal models, indicating that MYC proteins represent interesting therapeutic targets. Pre-requisites for a candidate tumor-associated antigen (TAA) to be targeted by immunotherapeutic approaches are the following, (i) expression should be tumor-restricted, (ii) the putative TAA should be up-regulated in cancer cells, and (iii) protein should be processed into immunogenic peptides capable of associating to major histocompatibility complex molecules with high affinity. Indeed, the MYCN protein is not expressed in human adult tissues and up-regulated variably in NB cells, and MYCN peptides capable of associating to HLA-A1 or HLA-A2 molecules with high affinity have been identified. Thus the MYCN protein qualifies as putative TAA in NB. Additional issues that determine the feasibility of targeting a putative TAA with cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and will be here discussed are the following, (i) the inadequacy of tumor cells per se to act as antigen-presenting cells witnessed, in the case of NB cells, by the low to absent expression of HLA class I molecules, the lack of co-stimulatory molecules and multiple defects in the HLA class I related antigen processing machinery, and (ii) the immune evasion mechanisms operated by cancer cells to fool the host immune system, such as up-regulation of soluble immunosuppressive molecules (e.g., soluble MICA and HLA-G in the case of NB) or generation of immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment. A final issue that deserves consideration is the strategy used to generate CTL.

MYCN is a well-known oncogene over-expressed in different human malignancies including neuroblastoma (NB), rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma, astrocytoma, Wilms’ tumor, and small cell lung cancer. In the case of NB, MYCN amplification is an established biomarker of poor-prognosis. MYCN belongs to a family of transcription factors (the most important of which is C-MYC) that show a high degree of homology. Down-regulation of MYC protein expression leads to tumor regression in animal models, indicating that MYC proteins represent interesting therapeutic targets. Pre-requisites for a candidate tumor-associated antigen (TAA) to be targeted by immunotherapeutic approaches are the following, (i) expression should be tumor-restricted, (ii) the putative TAA should be up-regulated in cancer cells, and (iii) protein should be processed into immunogenic peptides capable of associating to major histocompatibility complex molecules with high affinity. Indeed, the MYCN protein is not expressed in human adult tissues and up-regulated variably in NB cells, and MYCN peptides capable of associating to HLA-A1 or HLA-A2 molecules with high affinity have been identified. Thus the MYCN protein qualifies as putative TAA in NB. Additional issues that determine the feasibility of targeting a putative TAA with cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and will be here discussed are the following, (i) the inadequacy of tumor cells per se to act as antigen-presenting cells witnessed, in the case of NB cells, by the low to absent expression of HLA class I molecules, the lack of co-stimulatory molecules and multiple defects in the HLA class I related antigen processing machinery, and (ii) the immune evasion mechanisms operated by cancer cells to fool the host immune system, such as up-regulation of soluble immunosuppressive molecules (e.g., soluble MICA and HLA-G in the case of NB) or generation of immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment. A final issue that deserves consideration is the strategy used to generate CTL.

MYCN: from oncoprotein to tumor-associated antigen

Polyamines are highly regulated essential cations that are elevated in rapidly proliferating tissues, including diverse cancers. Expression analyses in neuroblastomas suggest that up-regulation of polyamine pro-synthetic enzymes and down-regulation of catabolic enzymes is associated with poor prognosis. Polyamine sufficiency may be required for MYCN oncogenicity in MYCN amplified neuroblastoma, and targeting polyamine homeostasis may therefore provide an attractive therapeutic approach. ODC1, an oncogenic MYCN target, is rate-limiting for polyamine synthesis, and is overexpressed in many cancers including neuroblastoma. Inhibition of ODC1 by difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) decreased tumor penetrance in TH-MYCN mice treated pre-emptively, and extended survival and synergized with chemotherapy in treating established tumors in both TH-MYCN and xenograft models. Efforts to augment DFMO activity, or otherwise maximally reduce polyamine levels, are focused on antagonizing polyamine uptake or augmenting polyamine export or catabolism. Since polyamine inhibition appears to be clinically well tolerated, these approaches, particularly when combined with chemotherapy, have great potential for improving neuroblastoma outcome in both MYCN amplified and non-MYCN amplified neuroblastomas.

Polyamines are highly regulated essential cations that are elevated in rapidly proliferating tissues, including diverse cancers. Expression analyses in neuroblastomas suggest that up-regulation of polyamine pro-synthetic enzymes and down-regulation of catabolic enzymes is associated with poor prognosis. Polyamine sufficiency may be required for MYCN oncogenicity in MYCN amplified neuroblastoma, and targeting polyamine homeostasis may therefore provide an attractive therapeutic approach. ODC1, an oncogenic MYCN target, is rate-limiting for polyamine synthesis, and is overexpressed in many cancers including neuroblastoma. Inhibition of ODC1 by difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) decreased tumor penetrance in TH-MYCN mice treated pre-emptively, and extended survival and synergized with chemotherapy in treating established tumors in both TH-MYCN and xenograft models. Efforts to augment DFMO activity, or otherwise maximally reduce polyamine levels, are focused on antagonizing polyamine uptake or augmenting polyamine export or catabolism. Since polyamine inhibition appears to be clinically well tolerated, these approaches, particularly when combined with chemotherapy, have great potential for improving neuroblastoma outcome in both MYCN amplified and non-MYCN amplified neuroblastomas.

Polyamine pathway inhibition as a novel therapeutic approach to treating neuroblastoma

The p53 oncosuppressor is very seldom mutated in neuroblastoma, but several mechanisms cooperate to its functional inactivation in this tumor. Increased MDM2 levels, due to genetic amplification or constitutive inhibition of p14 ARF, significantly contribute to this event highlighting p53 reactivation as an attractive perspective for neuroblastoma treatment. In addition to its role in tumorigenesis, MYCN sensitizes untransformed and cancer cells to apoptosis. This is associated to a fine modulation of the MDM2–p53 pathway. Indeed MYCN induces p53 and MDM2 transcription, and, by evoking a DNA damage response (DDR), it stabilizes p53 and its proapoptotic kinase Homeodomain Interacting Protein Kinase 2 (HIPK2). Through the regulation of the HIPK2-p53 inhibitor High Mobility Group protein A1 (HMGA1) and the homeobox proteins BMI-1 and TWIST-1, MYCN establishes a delicate balance between pro- and antiapoptotic molecules that might be easily perturbed by a variety of insults, leading to cell death. MDM2–p53 antagonists, such as Nutlin-3, are strikingly prone to inducing death in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma, by further pushing on HIPK2 accumulation. Here we discuss implications and caveats of exploiting this pathway and its connections to MYCN-induced DDR for a tailored therapy of MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma.

The p53 oncosuppressor is very seldom mutated in neuroblastoma, but several mechanisms cooperate to its functional inactivation in this tumor. Increased MDM2 levels, due to genetic amplification or constitutive inhibition of p14 ARF, significantly contribute to this event highlighting p53 reactivation as an attractive perspective for neuroblastoma treatment. In addition to its role in tumorigenesis, MYCN sensitizes untransformed and cancer cells to apoptosis. This is associated to a fine modulation of the MDM2–p53 pathway. Indeed MYCN induces p53 and MDM2 transcription, and, by evoking a DNA damage response (DDR), it stabilizes p53 and its proapoptotic kinase Homeodomain Interacting Protein Kinase 2 (HIPK2). Through the regulation of the HIPK2-p53 inhibitor High Mobility Group protein A1 (HMGA1) and the homeobox proteins BMI-1 and TWIST-1, MYCN establishes a delicate balance between pro- and antiapoptotic molecules that might be easily perturbed by a variety of insults, leading to cell death. MDM2–p53 antagonists, such as Nutlin-3, are strikingly prone to inducing death in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma, by further pushing on HIPK2 accumulation. Here we discuss implications and caveats of exploiting this pathway and its connections to MYCN-induced DDR for a tailored therapy of MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma.

Molecular mechanisms of MYCN-dependent apoptosis and the MDM2–p53 pathway: an Achille’s heel to be exploited for the therapy of MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma