GSE162362
AP-2alpha-mediated activation of E2F and EZH2 drives melanoma metastasis [RNA-seq]
In melanoma metastasis, the role of the AP-2alpha transcription factor, which is encoded by TFAP2A, is controversial as some findings have suggested tumor suppressor activity while other studies have shown high TFAP2A expression in node-positive melanoma associated with poor prognosis. Here we demonstrate that AP-2alpha facilitates melanoma metastasis through transcriptional activation of genes within the E2F pathway including EZH2. A BioID screen found that AP-2alpha interacts with members of the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (NuRD) complex. Loss of AP-2alpha removed activating chromatin marks in the promoters of EZH2 and other E2F target genes through activation of the NuRD repression complex. In melanoma cells, treatment witj tazemetostat, an FDA-approved and highly specific EZH2 inhibitor, substantially reduced anchorage-independent colony formation and demonstrated heritable anti-metastatic effects, which were dependent on AP-2alpha. Single cell RNA-seq analysis of a metastatic melanoma mouse model revealed hyperexpansion of Tfap2aHigh/E2F activated cell populations in transformed melanoma relative to progenitor melanocyte stem cells. These findings demonstrate that melanoma metastasis is driven by the AP-2alpha/EZH2 pathway and suggest that AP-2alpha expression can be used as a biomarker to predict responsiveness to EZH2 inhibitors for the treatment of advanced melanomas. Overall design: Examining changes to the transcriptome with loss of AP-2Alpha.