Mouse modeling of pediatric glioma, MYCN reveals intratumoral heterogeneity including neuronal and oligodendroglial lineage signatures [RNA-Seq]

Pediatric glioma of the subclass MYCN are highly aggressive tumors frequently carrying MYCN amplifications, TP53 mutations, or both alterations. In order to understand the biology of these tumors better and to improve treatment options, we generated a genetically engineered model by breeding hGFAP-cre::TP53Fl/Fl::lsl-MYCN mice. All such mice developed aggressive forebrain tumors early in lifetime that mimic their human counterparts regarding histology, DNA methylation, and gene expression. Mouse tumors were dissected and fresh frozen. The RNA was extracted with the TRIZOL method and RNA was sequences by Illumina HiSeq sequencing. 11 mouse tumors of hGFAP-cre::TP53 Fl/Fl::lsl-MYCN and 6 mouse tumors of Math1-cre::SmoM2 Fl/wt tumors as well as 3 samples of healthy control cerebellum and 3 olfactory bulbs were analyzed.