Lateral cerebellum is preferentially sensitive to high sonic hedgehog signaling and medulloblastoma formation.

Abstract

The main cell of origin of the Sonic hedgehog (SHH) subgroup of medulloblastoma (MB) is granule cell precursors (GCPs), a SHH-dependent transient amplifying population in the developing cerebellum. SHH-MBs can be further subdivided based on molecular and clinical parameters, as well as location because SHH-MBs occur preferentially in the lateral cerebellum (hemispheres). Our analysis of adult patient data suggests that tumors with Smoothened (<i>SMO</i>) mutations form more specifically in the hemispheres than those with Patched 1 (<i>PTCH1</i>) mutations. Using sporadic mouse models of SHH-MB with the two mutations commonly seen in adult MB, constitutive activation of <i>Smo</i> (<i>SmoM2</i>) or loss-of-<i>Ptch1</i>, we found that regardless of timing of induction or type of mutation, tumors developed primarily in the hemispheres, with <i>SmoM2</i>-mutants indeed showing a stronger specificity. We further uncovered that GCPs in the hemispheres are more susceptible to high-level SHH signaling compared with GCPs in the medial cerebellum (vermis), as more <i>SmoM2</i> or <i>Ptch1</i>-mutant hemisphere cells remain undifferentiated and show increased tumorigenicity when transplanted. Finally, we identified location-specific GCP gene-expression profiles, and found that deletion of the genes most highly expressed in the hemispheres (<i>Nr2f2</i>) or vermis (Engrailed1) showed opposing effects on GCP differentiation. Our studies thus provide insights into intrinsic differences within GCPs that impact on SHH-MB progression.