Project description:PREX2 truncating mutations occur in melanoma. We used microarray based gene expression profiling to compare expression patterns between xenografts harboring control GFP, wt PREX2 or various human relevant PREX2 mutants Primary xenograft tumors derived from primary immortalized melanocytes expressing indicated constructs were grown in ncr-nude mice and tumors harvested before before reaching 1.5cm size
Project description:Gene expression profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells with hTERT/E6/E7 transfected MSCs. hTERT may change gene expression in MSCs. Goal was to determine the gene expressions of immortalized MSCs.
Project description:Gene expression profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells with hTERT/E6/E7 transfected MSCs. hTERT may change gene expression in MSCs. Goal was to determine the gene expressions of immortalized MSCs. One-condition experment, gene expression of 3A6
Project description:Gene methylation profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells comparing HPV E6/E7-transfected MSCs cells with human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT)- and HPV E6/E7-transfected MSCs. hTERT may increase gene methylation in MSCs. Goal was to determine the effects of different transfected genes on global gene methylation in MSCs.
Project description:Gene methylation profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells comparing HPV E6/E7-transfected MSCs cells with human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT)- and HPV E6/E7-transfected MSCs. hTERT may increase gene methylation in MSCs. Goal was to determine the effects of different transfected genes on global gene methylation in MSCs. Two-condition experiment, KP MSCs vs. 3A6 MSCs.
Project description:Damage to the gene regulatory network governing terminal differentiation of melanocytes leads to pigmentation phenotypes and increases the risk for melanoma. Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) directly activates expression of melanocyte differentiation effectors, and levels of MITF have been proposed to govern the melanoma phenotype. Mutations in the gene encoding Transcription Factor Activator Protein 2 alpha (TFAP2A) cause reduced pigmentation in model organisms and premature hair graying in humans, and TFAP2A expression tends to be lower in advanced melanoma tumors than in benign nevi. However, the transcriptional targets of TFAP2A in melanocytes, and the epistatic relationship of TFAP2A and MITF, have been unclear. Using microarray-based analysis of zebrafish tfap2a mutant embryos, we generated a profile of genes whose expression is Tfap2a-dependent. We conducted anti-TFAP2A chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by next-generation sequencing (ChIP-seq) in immortalized mouse melanocytes and human primary melanocytes, and discovered that TFAP2A peaks are present near the promoters of Tfap2a-dependent genes expressed in melanocytes, and also at the majority of enhancers active in melanocytes. Comparison of TFAP2A ChIP-seq data to published MITF ChIP-seq data showed that the set of genes with promoters bound by both MITF and TFAP2A is enriched for the gene ontology term “pigment cell differentiation.” Deletion analysis of one such co-bound promoter, for Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin-like 1(TRPM1), confirmed that its expression depends on the presence of MITF binding sites as previously shown, but also depends on the presence of TFAP2A binding sites. Finally, we find that mitfa and tfap2a interact genetically in zebrafish. Collectively, these results show that TFAP2A, operating in parallel with MITF, directly regulates effectors of terminal differentiation in melanocytes and melanoma.
Project description:Clinical and genomic evidence support the view that the metastatic potential of a primary tumor may be dictated by transforming events acquired early in the tumorigenic process. It has been proposed that the presence of such pro-metastatic events in early-stage tumors reflects their additional capability to function as oncogenes. Here, to test this ‘deterministic’ hypothesis and identify potential pro-metastasis oncogenes, we adopted a comparative oncogenomics-guided functional genetic screening strategy involving (i) global transcriptomic data from two genetically engineered mouse models of melanoma with contrasting metastatic potential, (ii) genomic and transcriptomic profiles of human primary and metastatic melanoma and (iii) an invasion screen in TERT-immortalized human melanocytes and melanoma cells in vitro as well as (iv) evidence of expression selection in human melanoma tissues. This integrated effort led to the identification of 6 genes that are both potently pro-invasive and oncogenic. Further, we show that one such pro-invasion oncogene, ACP5, can confer spontaneous metastasis in vivo, engages a key pathway governing metastasis and is prognostic in human primary melanomas.