Targeting EZH2 in MYCN-amplified Neuroblastoma [RNA-seq]

Purpose: Identify new targets in MYCN-amplified Neuroblastoma Methods: Kelly and LAN-1 neuroblastoma cells were treated in duplicate with 2 uM GSK126 (Excess Biosciences M60071-2) or DMSO for 2 or 5 days. RNA was extracted from cells with the RNeasy Kit (Qiagen). RNA libraries were prepared for sequencing using standard Illumina protocols. The pool of sixteen samples was sequenced on two lanes of an Illumina HiSeq, generating single end reads of 32-76 bp length. Transcript abundance (reads and FPKM scores) at GRCh37/hg19 RefSeq gene level was computed with the Feature Counts method implemented in the Bioconductor v3.2 Rsubread package (Liao et al., 2014). Results: Pharmacological suppression of EZH2 inhibited neuroblastoma growth. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that EZH2 serves a PRC2-dependent function in neuroblastoma, repressing neural differentiation. Moreover, EZH2-regulated genes were strongly repressed in MYCN-amplified and high risk primary tumors. These observations demonstrate that MYCN upregulates EZH2 leading to inactivation of a tumor suppressor program in neuroblastoma. Conclusion: Our study supports testing EZH2 inhibitors in patients with MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma. Treatment of Kelly and LAN-1 neuroblastoma cells in duplicate with 2 uM GSK126 (Excess Biosciences M60071-2) or DMSO for 2 or 5 days.