chromothripsis in neuroblastoma
RNA-seq for four neuroblastoma samples (Paired-end protocol). Neuroblastoma is a pediatric cancer of the peripheral nervous system in which structural chromosome aberrations are emblematic of aggressive tumors. In this study, we investigated somatic rearrangements in two neuroblastoma cell lines and two primary tumors using paired-end sequencing of mate-pair libraries (SRA accession number ERP001414) and RNA-seq. In one cell line and in the two primary tumors, this approach confirmed the localization of the majority of rearrangements within one or two chromosomes, consistent with the phenomenon of chromothripsis. RNA-seq experiments confirmed expression of several predicted chimeric genes and genes with disrupted exon structure including ALK, NBAS, FHIT, PTPRD and ODZ4. RNA-seq analysis allowed the identification of abnormal transcripts expressed from genomic rearrangements that may be involved in neuroblastoma oncogenesis.