GSE169322
Serine-Threonine Kinase Receptor-Associated Protein (STRAP) Knockout Decreases the Malignant Phenotype in Neuroblastoma
Purpose: Serine-threonine kinase receptor-associated protein (STRAP) plays an important role in neural development but also in tumor growth. Neuroblastoma, a tumor of neural crest origin, is the most common extracranial malignancy of childhood, and it continues to carry a poor prognosis. The recent discovery of the role of STRAP in another pediatric solid tumor, osteosarcoma, and its known function in neural development, led us to investigate the role of STRAP in neuroblastoma tumorigenesis. Methods: STRAP protein expression was abrogated in two human neuroblastoma cell lines, SK-N-AS (AS) and SK-N-BE(2). Methods included transient knockdown with siRNA, stable knockdown with shRNA lentiviral transfection, and CRISPR-Cas9 genetic knockout of STRAP. STRAP knockdown and knockout cells were examined for phenotypic alterations in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Results: Cell proliferation, viability, motility, and growth were significantly decreased in STRAP knockout compared to wild-type cells. Indicators of stemness, including mRNA abundance of common stem cell markers Oct4, Nanog, and Nestin, the percentage of cells expressing CD133 on their surface, and the ability to form tumorspheres, were significantly decreased in the STRAP KO cells. In vivo, AS STRAP knockout cells formed tumors less readily than wild-type tumor cells. Conclusion: These novel findings demonstrated that STRAP plays a role in tumorigenesis and maintenance of neuroblastoma stemness. Overall design: Examine gene expression with serine-threonine kinase receptor-associated protein knockout in neuroblastoma