Therapeutic potential of targeting MYCN: A case series report of neuroblastoma with MYCN amplification

A dual-targeted electrochemical aptasensor for neuroblastoma-related microRNAs detection

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a significant pediatric cancer associated with high mortality rates, demanding innovative and appropriate approaches for its accurate detection. This paper described the design of a dual-target electrochemical aptasensor capable of simultaneously detecting neuroblastoma-associated microRNAs (miRNA-181 and miRNA-184) with exceptional sensitivity. Screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) were utilized with gold nanorods (AuNRs), and aptamers functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to improve sensitivity, specificity, and portable detection ability. The detection method employed in this study includes differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Our aptasensor exhibited remarkable limits of detections (LODs) of 5.10 aM for miRNA-181 and 9.39 aM for miRNA-184, respectively, along with a broad linear range spanning from 0.1 fM to 100 pM for both miRNAs. The practical significance of neuroblastoma diagnosis was shown through the validation of serum samples and comparison with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Our electrochemical aptasensor is user-friendly, easy to engineer, and offers a promising approach for accurately and selectively detecting important miRNA biomarkers in cancer screening and diagnosis, showing potential application in various clinical scenarios.

Recent advances in the roles of exosomal microRNAs in neuroblastoma

Exosomal miRNAs (exo-miRs), universally found in biofluids, tissues, and/or conditioned medium of the cell cultures play a significant role in cell - cell communication, thus driving cancer progression and metastasis. Very few studies have explored the role of exo-miRs in the progression of children’s cancer - neuroblastoma. In this mini review, I briefly summarize the existing literature on the role of exo-miRs in the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma.

Recent advances in the roles of exosomal microRNAs in neuroblastoma

Exosomal miRNAs (exo-miRs), universally found in biofluids, tissues, and/or conditioned medium of the cell cultures play a significant role in cell - cell communication, thus driving cancer progression and metastasis. Very few studies have explored the role of exo-miRs in the progression of children's cancer - neuroblastoma. In this mini review, I briefly summarize the existing literature on the role of exo-miRs in the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma.

The Thermal Dose of Photothermal Therapy Generates Differential Immunogenicity in Human Neuroblastoma Cells

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is an effective method for tumor eradication and has been successfully combined with immunotherapy. However, besides its cytotoxic effects, little is known about the effect of the PTT thermal dose on the immunogenicity of treated tumor cells. Therefore, we administered a range of thermal doses using Prussian blue nanoparticle-based photothermal therapy (PBNP-PTT) and assessed their effects on tumor cell death and concomitant immunogenicity correlates in two human neuroblastoma cell lines: SH-SY5Y (MYCN-non-amplified) and LAN-1 (MYCN-amplified). PBNP-PTT generated thermal dose-dependent tumor cell killing and immunogenic cell death (ICD) in both tumor lines in vitro. However, the effect of the thermal dose on ICD and the expression of costimulatory molecules, immune checkpoint molecules, major histocompatibility complexes, an NK cell-activating ligand, and a neuroblastoma-associated antigen were significantly more pronounced in SH-SY5Y cells compared with LAN-1 cells, consistent with the high-risk phenotype of LAN-1 cells. In functional co-culture studies in vitro, T cells exhibited significantly higher cytotoxicity toward SH-SY5Y cells relative to LAN-1 cells at equivalent thermal doses. This preliminary report suggests the importance of moving past the traditional focus of using PTT solely for tumor eradication to one that considers the immunogenic effects of PTT thermal dose to facilitate its success in cancer immunotherapy.