Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology, University of Ioannina Campus, 45115 Ioannina, Greece.
Department of Biological Applications and Technology, School of Health Sciences and Institute of Biosciences, University Research Centre, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece.
Development. 2022 Aug 1;149(15). doi: 10.1242/dev.200331. Epub 2022 Jul 29.
Although rare, childhood (paediatric) cancers are a major cause of death in young children. Unlike many adult cancers, paediatric cancers, such as neuroblastoma (NB), are developmental diseases that rarely show genetic predispositions. NB is the most common extracranial solid tumour in children, accounting for ∼15% of paediatric cancer deaths. This heterogeneous cancer arises from undifferentiated neural crest-derived progenitor cells. As neural crest cells are multipotent and migratory, they are often considered the embryonic paradigm of cancer stem cells. However, very little is known about the events that trigger tumour initiation and progression. Here, we discuss recent insights into sympathoadrenal lineage specification, as well as genetic factors associated with NB. With this in mind, we consider the molecular underpinnings of NB in the context of developmental trajectories of the neural crest lineage. This allows us to compare distinct subtypes of the disease and gene-function interactions during sensitive phases of neural crest development.
虽然罕见，但儿童（儿科）癌症是导致幼儿死亡的主要原因之一。与许多成人癌症不同，儿科癌症，如神经母细胞瘤（NB），是发育性疾病，很少表现出遗传倾向。NB 是儿童中最常见的颅外实体瘤，占儿科癌症死亡人数的约 15%。这种异质性癌症源自未分化的神经嵴衍生祖细胞。由于神经嵴细胞具有多能性和迁移性，因此它们通常被认为是癌症干细胞的胚胎范例。然而，关于引发肿瘤起始和进展的事件知之甚少。在这里，我们讨论了最近对交感肾上腺谱系特化的深入了解，以及与 NB 相关的遗传因素。有鉴于此，我们考虑了 NB 在神经嵴谱系发育轨迹背景下的分子基础。这使我们能够比较该疾病的不同亚型和神经嵴发育敏感阶段的基因功能相互作用。
