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In neuroblastic tumours, Schwann cells do not harbour the genetic alterations of neuroblasts but may nevertheless share the same clonal origin

Oncogene volume 27, pages 3066–3071 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Neuroblastic tumours are composed of variable proportions of neuroblasts and Schwann cells. Whether both components share a common neoplastic origin is highly debated and discrepant results have been reported about the presence of tumour-related genetic alterations in Schwann cells. We have used X-methylation analysis and array-CGH to investigate contiguous Schwannian and neuroblastic areas in tumours with a nodular pattern. A skewed X inactivation was observed in four out of five stromal components. Interestingly, in these four cases, the X-inactivation profiles of the neuroblastic components were identical to the matched stromal areas. However, whereas all neuroblastic areas displayed chromosomal imbalances, no alteration was found in any Schwann cell components. Similarly, no alteration was observed in a series of 19 tumours with a single stroma-rich component, which occasionally exhibited a skewed X-inactivation pattern (3/17 informative tumours). Altogether, this indicates that most stroma-rich tumours display a polyclonal proliferation and that Schwann cells do not derive from neuroblasts. However, in tumours with both stroma-rich and -poor components, our results suggest that cells from both areas share a common progenitor.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Loic de Pontual for his help in the analysis of the X-methylation pattern. This work was supported by grants from the Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer (Equipe Labellisée), INSERM and Institut Curie. Franck Bourdeaut is a recipient of fellowships from the Fondation pour la Recherche Medicale and the Association pour la Recherche contre le Cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM, U830, Section de Recherche, Unité de Génétique et Biologie des Cancers, Institut Curie, Paris, France

    F Bourdeaut & O Delattre

  2. Institut Curie, Unité de Génétique Somatique, Paris, France

    A Ribeiro, G Pierron & O Delattre

  3. Université Paris7, EA3102, AP-HP Hôpital R Debré, Service de Pathologie, Paris, France

    R Paris & M Peuchmaur

  4. Institut Curie, Unité de Cytogénétique, Paris, France

    J Couturier

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  1. F Bourdeaut
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Correspondence to O Delattre.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Oncogene website (http://www.nature.com/onc).

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Bourdeaut, F., Ribeiro, A., Paris, R. et al. In neuroblastic tumours, Schwann cells do not harbour the genetic alterations of neuroblasts but may nevertheless share the same clonal origin. Oncogene 27, 3066–3071 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1210965

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