Human stem cell models for group 3 medulloblastoma uncover JARID1B as a regulator of the chromatin landscape

Abstract Medulloblastoma (MB) is one of the most prevalent malignant brain tumors in children, with tremendous cognitive and neuroendocrine disability among survivors. Group 3 MB (G3MB) has poor overall survival at <50%, high frequencies of metastases, and no targeted therapies. Amplification of MYC and activation of TGFβ signaling occur frequently in G3MB. Many tumors have no reported mutations, suggesting epigenetic drivers. We here describe novel humanized models for G3MB from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). By transducing hiPSC-derived neuroepithelial stem cells (NESC), we determined that: 1) both MYC and TGFβ effectors drove tumors in vivo; 2) MYC/TGFβR1 in combination led to more aggressive tumors and resistance to clinical inhibitors of TGFβ, and 3) NESC-derived tumors clustered with human G3MB. To decipher mechanisms, we integrated RNA-sequencing with CUT&RUN (for MYC genomic localization and post-translational modification of histones). MYC-bound neural developmental genes were repressed in MYC/TGFβR1 co-driven lines. Gene signatures associated with the Polycomb Repressive Complex (PRC) demarcated with H3K27me3; the histone mark directly regulated by PRC. We identified JARID1B, a MYC binding partner and H3K4me3 demethylase, as a regulator of repressed neural genes. Primary G3MB also showed increased levels of H3K27me3 concurrent with higher expression of JARID1B. Knockdown of JARID1B in human G3MB cell lines reduced growth, supporting potential as a therapeutic target. We conclude that a MYC-TGFβ-JARID1B axis represses target genes to drive G3MB and present new humanized models for G3MB to understand epigenetic dysregulation in G3MB. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.