Integrated and Functional Genomic Approaches to Elucidate Differential Genetic Dependencies in Melanoma
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Integrated and Functional Genomic Approaches to Elucidate Differential Genetic Dependencies in Melanoma The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Wong, Terence. 2018. Integrated and Functional Genomic Approaches to Elucidate Differential Genetic Dependencies in Melanoma. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:42014990 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Integrated and Functional Genomic Approaches to Elucidate Differential Genetic Dependencies in Melanoma A dissertation presented by Terence Cheng Wong to The Division of Medical Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Biological and Biomedical Sciences Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts November 2017 © 2017 Terence Cheng Wong All rights reserved. Dissertation Advisor: Levi Garraway Terence Cheng Wong Integrated and Functional Genomic Approaches to Elucidate Differential Genetic Dependencies in Melanoma ABSTRACT Genomic characterization of human cancers over the past decade has generated comprehensive catalogues of genetic alterations in cancer genomes. Many of these genetic events result in molecular or cellular changes that drive cancer cell phenotypes. In melanoma, a majority of tumors harbor mutations in the BRAF gene, leading to activation of the MAPK pathway and tumor initiation. The development and use of drugs that target the mutant BRAF protein and the MAPK pathway have produced significant clinical benefit in melanoma patients. In addition, recent advances in cancer immunotherapy have led to dramatic and durable responses in tumor types with high mutation rates, including melanoma. However, innate and acquired resistance to targeted therapy and immunotherapy necessitate the discovery, investigation, and pursuit of novel and orthogonal tumor dependencies for the treatment of cancer patients. In this work, we applied the analysis of functional genomic screening data and cistromic and transcriptomic experimental approaches to characterize SOX10 as a differential genetic dependency in melanoma. To identify novel and potentially actionable lineage-specific differential genetic dependencies across cancer, we performed class-based computational iii analyses of Project Achilles dependency data. In melanoma, known differential dependencies included BRAF and MAPK1, while SOX10 was the highest ranked novel genetic dependency. Integrative analysis with additional genomic data uncovered a gene expression-dependency relationship for SOX10 in melanoma, which we confirmed, showing that only cell lines that express SOX10 are dependent on SOX10 for cell proliferation. To further investigate SOX10 dependency in melanoma, we characterized the cistrome, the complete set of binding sites in the genome, and transcriptome of SOX10 in melanoma cell lines. The integration of these datasets enabled the determination of SOX10 target genes and downstream pathways in melanoma, including shared target genes with the well-known oncoprotein MYC. Additional analysis of SOX10 target genes by MITF expression revealed MITF class-specific SOX10 transcriptional programs in melanoma, characterized by MITF in MITF-high melanoma and FOS-JUN in MITF-low melanoma. Taken together, our studies provide new insights into the role and importance of SOX10 in melanoma biology and pave the way for the integration of large-scale datasets to identify and characterize genetic dependencies in cancer. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE Abstract ............................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... viii INTRODUCTION: Melanoma, Neural Crest Development, and Genomic Approaches Summary ..............................................................................................................................2 Melanoma Epidemiology, Genomics, and Treatment .........................................................4 Melanoma Epidemiology Genomic Landscape of Melanoma Recent Advances in Melanoma Treatment SOX10 and Neural Crest Development .............................................................................17 Neural Crest Development SOX Family of Transcription Factors Role of SOX10 in Neural Crest Development and Melanoma Functional Genomic Approaches to Study Cancer ............................................................32 Genetic Perturbation Reagents Functional Genomic Screens Genomic Approaches to Study Transcription Factors .......................................................38 Characterization of Transcription Factor Localization by ChIP-Seq Characterization of Gene Expression by RNA-Seq Context and Rationale for the Current Work .....................................................................42 CHAPTER 1: Identification of Differential Genetic Dependencies in Tumor Lineages Summary ............................................................................................................................44 Introduction ........................................................................................................................46 Results ................................................................................................................................49 Identification of Differential Genetic Dependencies in Tumor Lineages Identification of Differential Genetic Dependencies in Melanoma v Model of SOX10 Expression-Based Dependency in Cancer Validation of SOX10 Dependency in Melanoma Discussion ..........................................................................................................................69 Methods..............................................................................................................................73 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................76 CHAPTER 2: Characterization of the SOX10 Cistrome and Transcriptome in Melanoma Summary ............................................................................................................................78 Introduction ........................................................................................................................80 Results ................................................................................................................................82 Characterization of the SOX10 Cistrome in Melanoma Characterization of the SOX10 Transcriptome in Melanoma Elucidation of SOX10 Target Genes and Dependencies Analysis of SOX10 Target Genes in Melanoma by MITF status Discussion ........................................................................................................................123 Methods............................................................................................................................130 Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................137 CHAPTER 3: Investigation of HDAC Inhibitors in Melanoma Summary ..........................................................................................................................139 Introduction ......................................................................................................................141 Results ..............................................................................................................................144 Evaluation of HDAC Inhibitors on SOX10 Expression and Activity Combination of HDAC Inhibitors and MAPK Pathway Inhibitors Discussion ........................................................................................................................162 Methods............................................................................................................................165 Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................169 vi CONCLUSION: Integration, Characterization, and Innovation Summary ..........................................................................................................................171 Power of Functional Genomic Characterization of Cancer .............................................172 Further Characterization of SOX10 in Melanoma ...........................................................173 Therapeutic Strategies for Targeting SOX10 in Cancer ..................................................175 Future Considerations ......................................................................................................177 APPENDICES Integrated Chemical Screen for Modulators of SOX10 Transcriptional Activity ...........178 Assay Development of an Arrayed ORF Screen for Resistance to Androgen Deprivation in Prostate Cancer ............................................................................................................184 REFERENCES