RNA-seq analysis of LAN-1 neuroblastoma cells treated with G9a inhibitor BIX-01294.

MYCN-amplification is a high-risk factor in neuroblastoma which contributes to a poor prognostic outcome. Here data is presented showing that both short-interfering (si) RNA depletion and treatment by small molecule inhibitors (SMI) of lysine-specific histone methyltransferase Euchromatic Histone Lysine Methyltransferase 2 (G9a) leads to impaired growth in all tested neuroblastoma cell lines. Furthermore, in cell lines representative of high-risk neuroblastomas with MYCN-amplification, there is a significant increase in apoptosis and cell death. There is also a significant reduction in MYCN protein in MYCN-overexpressing cells, including in SHEP-21N cell line with inducible MYCN expression, after both G9a knockdown and SMI treatment independently. This suggests there is a synthetic lethal relationship between G9a and MYCN. To explore the transcriptional effects of G9a inhibition in NB, we performed an RNA-seq of LAN-1 MNA NB cells, treated with G9a inhibitor BIX-01294.