METTL3/MYCN cooperation drives neural crest differentiation and provides therapeutic vulnerability in neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a childhood cancer. Improper differentiation of developing trunk neural crest cells (tNCC) cause NB tumor formation in sympathetic nervous system. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) epitranscriptomic modification control post-transcriptional gene expression but the mechanism which recruit m6A methyltransferase complex to specific locus is less characterized. We explored if m6A epitranscriptome could fine tune gene regulation in migrating/differentiating tNCC. We uncovered m6A epitranscriptome based regulation of HOX gene expression in tNCC which contributes in their timely differentiation to sympathetic neurons. Posterior HOX genes are m6A modified in MYCN NB cells and tumors. We provided evidence that sustained overexpression of MYCN oncogene could drive METTL3 recruitment in subset of genes to create an undifferentiated state in tNCC. Our study suggests oncogenic transcription factor mediated modulation of m6A epitranscriptome could be a prevalent mechanism in other cancers. METTL3 depletion/inhibition induces DNA damage and differentiation in MYCN overexpressed cells. METTL3 inhibition increases vulnerability to the chemotherapeutic drug in MYCN-amplified Patient-derived xenografts (PDX) cells, suggesting METTL3 inhibition could be a potential therapeutic approach for NB.