Lineage origin and microenvironment shape neuroblastoma transcriptional state and plasticity

Abstract

Neuroblastoma, a neural-crest-derived malignancy of the peripheral nervous system, is a devastating pediatric disease characterized by high intra- and intertumoral heterogeneity. While several tumor expression programs correlate with patient outcome, the developmental and contextual determinants of their emergence remain incompletely understood. Here, we systematically dissected neuroblastoma transcriptional heterogeneity and measured how tumor expression programs are associated with lineage history and developmental context. To achieve this, we combined single-cell transcriptomics with high-throughput lineage tracing and tumor cell transplantation in zebrafish models of MYCN-driven neuroblastoma. We identified developmental cell-state-associated programs that align with sympathoadrenal development, as well as general cellular-process programs. Clonal analysis showed that developmental programs are preferentially clone-associated, whereas cellular-process programs are more context-responsive. Transplantation into an embryonic environment reshaped the activation of several initially clone-associated programs, consistent with developmentally determined state reconfiguration and/or selection of state-competent cells. Together, our results show that lineage history and developmental context jointly shape tumor-state architecture in vivo.