A reduced expression level of Oct4, SOX2 and NESTIN was found, whereas TrkA, TH, MAP2 and TUJ1 was increased in USP3-silenced cells (Fig. 5A and Supplementary Fig. 6), suggesting that USP3 downregulation might impair self-renewal capacity in neuroblastoma. This evidence concerns the gene POU5F1 and neuroblastoma.