Integrative genomic analyses identify neuroblastoma risk genes involved in neuronal differentiation.

Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have been decisive in elucidating the genetic predisposition of neuroblastoma (NB). The majority of genetic variants identified in GWAS are found in non-coding regions, suggesting that they can be causative of pathogenic dysregulations of gene expression. Nonetheless, pinpointing the potential causal genes within implicated genetic loci remains a major challenge. In this study, we integrated NB GWAS and expression Quantitative Trait Loci (eQTL) data from adrenal gland to identify candidate genes impacting NB susceptibility. We found that ZMYM1, CBL, GSKIP and WDR81 expression was dysregulated by NB predisposing variants. We further investigated the functional role of the identified genes through computational analysis of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data from single-cell and whole-tissue samples of NB, neural crest, and adrenal gland tissues, as well as through in vitro differentiation assays in NB cell cultures. Our results indicate that dysregulation of ZMYM1, CBL, GSKIP, WDR81 may lead to malignant transformation by affecting early and late stages of normal program of neuronal differentiation. Our findings enhance the understanding of how specific genes contribute to NB pathogenesis by highlighting their influence on neuronal differentiation and emphasizing the impact of genetic risk variants on the regulation of genes involved in critical biological processes.