Investigating the cooperative roles of RNA binding protein LIN28B and MYC in group 3 medulloblastoma.
Mentor Name: Zulekha Qadeer
Neurons are nerve cells that populate the brain and are responsible for transmitting chemical signals to regulate several human functions. A deadly form of pediatric cancer, known as medulloblastoma, occurs when these neurons start to proliferate uncontrollably. Developing nerve cells, known as neural stem cells, can transform and get ‘stuck’ at a certain stage in brain development. Medulloblastoma is hypothesized to arise from alterations to the DNA template of such neural stem cells, known as mutations. These mutations result in gene expression changes to escalate cellular growth, migration, and invasion. Recent work has identified alterations in key genes MYC and LIN28B in a subset of aggressive group 3 medulloblastoma. The goal of this study is to reveal the cooperative functions of MYC and LIN28B in group 3 medulloblastoma tumor initiation and maintenance. We will generate human neural stem cells expressing these genes and inject them into the brains of immunocompromised mice to assess tumor formation. We will also investigate if current drugs targeting the gene LIN28B are an effective new therapy for these tumors. The prognosis for children with this treatment resistant medulloblastoma is exceptionally poor. We anticipate that our studies will provide insight on the mechanism(s) of how LIN28B and MYC promote tumor progression and new therapies to improve patient outcomes.
