N-Myc oncogene amplification is a frequent event in neuroblastoma and is strongly correlated with advanced disease stage and treatment failure. Similarly to c-Myc oncogenic activation, N-Myc deregulation promotes both cell proliferation and p53-dependent apoptosis by sensitizing cells to a variety of insults. Intriguingly, p53 mutations are uncommon in neuroblastomas, strongly suggesting that an alternative cooperating event circumvents this safeguard against oncogene-driven neoplasia. By performing a pangenomic cDNA microarray analysis, we demonstrate that human Twist is constantly overexpressed in N-Myc-amplified neuroblastomas. H-Twist overexpression is responsible for the inhibition of the ARF/p53 pathway involved in the Myc-dependent apoptotic response. This oncogenic cooperation of two key regulators of embryogenesis causes cell transformation and malignant outgrowth.

When small phosphatidylcholine liposomes are added to perforated cells, they bind preferentially to the Golgi suggesting an exceptional avidity of this organelle for curved membranes without stereospecific interactions. We show that the cis golgin GMAP-210 accounts for this property. First, the liposome tethering properties of the Golgi resembles that of the amphipathic lipid-packing sensor (ALPS) motif of GMAP-210: both preferred small (radius < 40 nm) liposomes made of monounsaturated but not saturated lipids. Second, reducing GMAP-210 levels or redirecting its ALPS motif to mitochondria decreased liposome capture by the Golgi. Extensive mutagenesis analysis suggests that GMAP-210 tethers authentic transport vesicles via the same mechanism whereby the ALPS motif senses lipid-packing defects at the vesicle surface through its regularly spaced hydrophobic residues. We conclude that the Golgi uses GMAP-210 as a filter to select transport vesicles according to their size and bulk lipid composition.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16988.001