FOXR2 stabilizes MYCN protein and identifies non-MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma patients with unfavorable outcome

The stabilization of MYCN by FOXR2 represents an alternative mechanism to MYCN amplification to increase MYCN protein levels. As such, FOXR2 expression identifies another subset of neuroblastoma patients with unfavorable clinical outcome. Background: Clinical outcomes of neuroblastoma patients range from spontaneous tumor regression to fatality. Hence, understanding the mechanisms that cause tumor progression are crucial for the treatment of patients. In this study, we show that FOXR2 activation identifies a subset of neuroblastoma tumors with unfavorable outcome and we investigate the mechanism how FOXR2 relates to poor outcome in patients. Total RNAs isolated from SK-N-AS and SK-N-FI cells transduced with inducible lentiviral constructs expressing either FOXR2 shRNA or scrambled shRNA were analyzed on human Affymetrix 133plus2.0 arrays