Glutathione biosynthesis is upregulated at the initiation of MYCN-driven neuroblastoma tumorigenesis
The MYCN gene is amplified and overexpressed in a large proportion of high stage neuroblastoma patients and has been identified as a key driver of tumorigenesis. However, the mechanism by which MYCN promotes tumor initiation is poorly understood. Here we conducted metabolic profiling of pre-malignant sympathetic ganglia and tumors derived from the TH-MYCN mouse model of neuroblastoma, compared to non-malignant ganglia from wildtype littermates. We found that metabolites involved in the biosynthesis of glutathione, the most abundant cellular antioxidant, were the most significantly upregulated metabolic pathway at tumor initiation, and progressively increased to meet the demands of tumorigenesis.
Source: Molecular Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Daniel R. Carter, Selina K. Sutton, Marina Pajic, Jayne Murray, Eric O. Sekyere, Jamie Fletcher, Anneleen Beckers, Katleen De Preter, Frank Speleman, Rani E. George, Michelle Haber, Murray D. Norris, Belamy B. Cheung, Glenn M. Marshall Source Type: research