NTRK1/TrkA Signaling in Neuroblastoma Cells Induces Nuclear Reorganization and Intra-Nuclear Aggregation of Lamin A/C.

(1) Background: Neuroblastomas (NBs) are the most common extracranial solid tumors of children. The amplification of the Myc-N proto-oncogene (MYCN) is a major driver of NB aggressiveness, while high expression of the neurotrophin receptor NTRK1/TrkA is associated with mild disease courses. The molecular effects of NTRK1 signaling in MYCN-amplified NB, however, are still poorly understood and require elucidation.

Comprehensive characterization of RB1 mutant and MYCN amplified retinoblastoma cell lines.

In retinoblastoma research tumor-derived cell lines remain an important model to investigate tumorigenesis and new therapy options, due to limited tumor material and lack of adequate animal models. A panel of 10 retinoblastoma cell lines was characterized with respect to mutation, methylation and expression of RB1 and MYCN. These established retinoblastoma cell lines represent the most frequent types of RB1 inactivation and together with the MYCN amplification status, three classes can be distinguished: RB1/MYCN, RB1/MYCN and RB1/MYCN.

Pharmaceutically inhibiting polo-like kinase 1 exerts a broad anti-tumour activity in retinoblastoma cell lines.

Background: Retinoblastoma is the most common malignant cancer of the eye in children. Although metastatic retinoblastoma is rare, cure rates for this advanced disease remain below 50%. High-level polo-like kinase 1 expression in retinoblastomas has previously been shown to be correlated with adverse outcome parameters.

Translating expression profiling into a clinically feasible test to predict neuroblastoma outcome.

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of predicting neuroblastoma outcome using highly parallel quantitative real-time PCR data.

Experimental Design: We generated expression profiles of 63 neuroblastoma patients, 47 of which were analyzed by both Affymetrix U95A microarrays and highly parallel real-time PCR on microfluidic cards (MFC; Applied Biosystems). Top-ranked genes discriminating patients with event-free survival or relapse according to high-level analysis of Affymetrix chip data, as well as known neuroblastoma marker genes (MYCN and NTRK1/TrkA), were quantified simultaneously by real-time PCR.