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HIF2α negatively regulates MYCN protein levels and promotes a low-risk noradrenergic phenotype in neuroblastoma
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology (Faculty of Medicine).ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4844-2660
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology (Faculty of Medicine).
Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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2025 (English)In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, ISSN 0027-8424, E-ISSN 1091-6490, Vol. 122, no 43, article id e2516922122Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The role of HIF2α, encoded by EPAS1, in neuroblastoma remains controversial. Here, we demonstrate that induction of high levels of HIF2α in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cells results in a rapid and profound reduction of the oncoprotein MYCN. This is followed by an upregulation of genes characteristic of noradrenergic cells in the adrenal medulla. Additionally, upon induction of HIF2α, the proliferation rate drops substantially, and cells develop elongated neurite-like protrusions, indicative of differentiation. In vivo HIF2α induction in established xenografts significantly attenuates tumor growth. Notably, analysis of sequenced neuroblastoma patient samples, revealed a negative correlation between EPAS1 and MYCN expression and a strong positive correlation between EPAS1 expression, high expression levels of noradrenergic markers, and improved patient outcome. This was paralleled by analysis of human developing adrenal medulla datasets wherein EPAS1 expression was prominent in populations with high expression levels of genes characteristic of noradrenergic chromaffin cells. Our findings show that high levels of HIF2α in neuroblastoma, leads to drastically reduced MYCN protein levels, cell cycle exit, and noradrenergic cell differentiation. Taken together, our results challenge the dogma that HIF2α acts as an oncogene in neuroblastoma.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 2025. Vol. 122, no 43, article id e2516922122
Keywords [en]
HIF2α, MYCN, neuroblastoma, noradrenergic differentiation, tumor suppression
National Category
Cell and Molecular Biology Cancer and Oncology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-246104DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2516922122PubMedID: 41118218Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105019629659OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-246104DiVA, id: diva2:2014296
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2022-000731Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation, PR2023-0013Swedish Cancer Society, 23 3144 PjThe Kempe FoundationsUmeå UniversityAvailable from: 2025-11-17 Created: 2025-11-17 Last updated: 2025-11-17Bibliographically approved

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Maitra, SubhamitaAntoniou, EiriniLindehell, HenrikHolmberg, Johan

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